Strut Question

Thanks all. The way the bearing was worn indicated the wedge was too steep but the stringers were collapsed. My thinking is to leave the shaft log alone and adjust the strut to fit it and the engine. The adventure continues.

Jack

8122pbrainard wrote: Jack, Nothing would surprise me but I don't feel that wood wedge came out of the CC factory. I'd get some angular measurments and see if it's the correct strut!! Since you did save it and want to save on repair costs, a built up epoxy base replacing the wood is your best option.

At least at first glance, that strut *appears* to be the correct one. It looks to be identical in style to the other pre-71 Mustang struts Ive handled.

My sister's '69 required some pretty aggressive shimming at the rear to get the shaft centered in the log- similar to your wedge. We shimmed with washers, but Id like to come up with a better solution when they redo their stringers. If youre digging that far into the boat, I would put several layers of glass on the inside of the hull and see if you can make a pocket on the bottom for the strut base to sit in that more closely matches the angle. All 71+ CC's have struts that are mounted this way. You can also (carefully) grind your strut base at an angle so that it doesnt require such an aggressive shim. We did this on our BFN to dial in the strut without any shimming.

The strut has a wedge shim that looks to be original. I'm assuming this is to fix a shaft log that wasn't installed correct. Anyone know a good reason why I shouldn't fix this while I have the rest of the boat apart? The bearing was worn on one side and the strut was bent. Straightening the strut was a lot easier than getting the bearing out.