Stuffing box gone amuck

Pete, no need for dowel pins on the couplings because of the fitted bolts, they hold a .000 clearance fit, normally if you have some mis-alignment at the couplings the bolts will not come out...up in the engine room it took a few light taps to get all the bolts out and the couplings didnt seperate, which tells me for now she is pretty good on the alignment up there, I really can see the 30 ft shaft as being the problem at this point because the port Aft bearing is worn at the 5 oclock position and the starboard is worn at the 7 oclock, the forward ones at the trans end are perfect. some history on the shafts are the are supposedly forgerd steel not stainless, they have been welded up twice at the bearing areas...i really think the shafts are just whooped....they think alignment, they are worn evenly on both sides from the prop torque, they spin out board, they are the original shafts, i really think they are experiencing the paprclip effect

Eric,
You are correct - they had better drop that thing in the water before the laser guy goes to work!! I think you had better talk with him. He sounds like a pro with the shaft alignment using the laser. If so, he'll understand immediately.

No pilots on the couplings!!! I wonder if the were aligned, bolted down and then drilled/reamed for dowel pins for the alignment?? What's on them for the alignment?

Picked up all the parts from skidim this afternoon and got everything tore apart. Decided to go ahead and do the strut bearing while I had it apart. Found a new way to remove the bearing after cussing at the hacksaw for 20 minutes. Turns out a 13/16" impact socket will fit in the strut perfectly. Lubed it up and tapped the bearing right out. Then used a punch to knock the socket back out. Literally took me 5 minutes. rubber was in the beginning stages of dry rot, but wear pattern was normal(had a little vertical play but no side to side). Not sure if its the original but it was a single piece 4" brass outer/rubber inner bearing.

Turns out instead of repacking the stuffing box the PO just kept tightening down the cap. The lock nuts was bottomed out and took some finessing to get off. Pulled it apart and found the below material. Only 2 rings and the 2nd looked like it had been combined from leftover pieces. The material crumbled in my hands.

   



Put a dial indicator on the shaft and she's straight and true. Only real issue I had was trying to get the stuffing box loose on the rudder. Pulled the rudder off just fine and decided since the thing wasn't leaking I would leave it alone for now. Sucker is corroded on there and I'm betting its the same issue as with my shaft box. And to the CC factory people, seriously why on earth did you put the pitman arm clamp bolt on the rear of the clamp instead of facing the front where it would of been easy to get to.

After you clean up the shaft, make sure it's not fretted to much by measuring it. Erik mentioned it besides myself. You should have about a .000" to about .0005" interference fit.

It would also be a good idea to check to make sure the shaft is straight both down it's length but also just behind the strut on the prop taper.

After 2 hours, 3 chisels, and a 4.5" cutoff wheel the coupler has seen its last hoorah. Ended up slicing down the key on one side and then notched the 180 degree opposite side. Used the chisels to pry it open like a clam till the non-key side closed back up, cut another notch and spread it a little more. Took 3 notches and a slow pace, but it came off without damaging the shaft. Though the key is toast.




Dropped by SkiDIM and spoke with Vince today and he agreed to give the coupler hell since I really had nothing to loose. They have a coupler instock probably still on his desk that I'll swing by tomorrow and grab. Now I just need to do some searching for a how to on putting it back on. From what I gather I heat the sucker up for 30 minutes then hot potato it onto the shaft. I'm just curious if I should clean up the surface rust on the coupler end of the shaft or leave it be. The boat has 900hrs on it so I'm thinking I might as well do the strut bearing while I have it off. Just means I won't get to get back on the water this weekend :(

I also think you should just toss the money at it and use an A.R.E. system shaft. I have pictures of the shaft and also a picture of my old walter's style 3 1/2 in coupler on this link:

http://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24811&KW=&title=replacing-cutless-bearing

I also read somewhere that if you are going to split your old coupler lengthwise, use a cutoff wheel and cut it right along the keyway slot.

Of course, I think Eric is also right about just cutting the shaft off with the cutoff wheel and being done with it.

It will be worth the money to do it yourself and then be able to take the shaft out at will.

Check your cutless bearing and go ahead and do it too if it's ready.

if you do slice, you can get a split type walters coulping that will clamp on the shaft, that's if the shaft is straight and the end isnt fretted, 800-462-8848 TMI carries the split type 4" flange 1" shaft

all relevent

personally i think it's the bearings causing the problem or they have welded the shafts in the past and they have the paperclip effect

SNobsessed wrote: gtxragtop wrote: took 220 sandpaper and cleaned out the bit of corrosion in the coupling. Was not much to remove. It then slipped right on/off again like butter. The coupler needs to be a press fit. If it slipped back on to the shaft without heating, the shaft may come loose under load.

gtxragtop wrote: Was not much to remove. It then slipped right on/off again like butter.

NG,
Chris is correct. You have a problem just waiting to happen.

if you opt to cut the shaft, use a cut off wheel, dont mess around with a swazall....5 minutes, really, what happens if you spend the weekend d*cking with the set screws only to find out the shaft is whooped? the ARE is the way to go

Ok So after doing some research I'm down to 3 options. I ruled out the rubber hose patch idea bc its just not worth the risk, and I'd constantly worry about it.

1. Drill out the set screws and then tackle popping the shaft out of the coupler. ($5, but will probably take a weekend after all is said and done)
2. Slice the coupler long ways and just buy a new coupler($85 and about 2hrs to slice through it)
3. Cut the Shaft and buy an ARE double taper($450 and 2hrs to cut through SS)

SO now I just need to evaluate how much my time is worth and if Id rather waste money or waste my time. This also would drain my ACME 422 prop fund. Not even sure #2 is possible, just an idea I had that it had to be softer than SS. #1 may backfire as this boat was in salt water for about 2 years so I'm thinking the coupler may be a solid block of rust. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on the matter.

On a side note after noticing brand new shiny engine mounting bolts where everything else is dirty/rusty it appears this sucker had a new engine put in or atleast, which would also explain why it says EFI on the side of the boat but has a newer carb on it.

gtxragtop wrote: took 220 sandpaper and cleaned out the bit of corrosion in the coupling. Was not much to remove. It then slipped right on/off again like butter.

The coupler needs to be a press fit. If it slipped back on to the shaft without heating, the shaft may come loose under load.

Damn I'm new to this forum, but joined because I need to tackle the packing in my 97 super sport. Just looking at where it is, thought it would be nice if it could slide out the bottom to access. guess i'm goin in. I'm the only owner and have never had an issue before. noticed the past few year it took on more water over night. Now the bilge cant keep up. figured I'd do the drive shaft and rudder. any tricks??????>

You could hoist up the engine & pull the shaft from the inside. would be extra work but cheaper than a new shaft.