Cutlass Bearing Replacement

Pete and Tim, Thanks for the education.

Contacted the indicator on the taper and ran out the shaft. .002 TIR at that point. So the shaft has a total of .0025 runout from the hull back to the end of the taper. Excellent
Ran the boat for 3 hours last night and that coupling spins in a very smooth and silent mode....very cool. Normal oil pressure, no leaks and normal water temp. Will continue adjust the packing gland. Truley an exercise that is critical to the operation of the boat. Thanks
We are ready to start skiing

Tom,
It sure sounds and looks like you have the idea except for checking the shaft straightness aft of the strut. You want to pull the prop and locate the dial indicator on the aft end of the taper. Where you have the indicator located will typically not pick up a bend. A shaft bend aft is typical from a prop hit and usually is around the aft end of the strut.

Ok I wanted to report back on the prop/shaft alignment progress. Thanks to Pete and Tim I now have enough knowledge to align this boat....I think.
1.) First I used a dial indicator and checked the shaft for bend. Shaft was within the .003 requirements. The shaft was not straight with the strut and the hull Log. I removed the Packing assembly and rubber hose off the log and the strut. I cleaned all the old adhesive and started shimming with washers until I had a good alignment through the Log and had the sweet spot (where the shaft spins with the least resistance). Then I used a flash light and looked for clearance between the hull and shaft from under the boat.
2.) Align drive train to shaft coupling within .003
3.) Assemble packing parts to Log.
4.) Use dial indicator and run out shaft at hull/Log and again on prop side of rudder. .003 max allowed.
The shaft spins much easier and there is no interference with the hull.
Thanks to all for the support

Plenty of photos please i'm looking to do mine soon once I've got myself a new shaft

I used a strap from one of the gunnelrails to the other. It made a v and supported the shaft.

is there any trick/method to securing the shaft in the position so it can't move?

or how do you do that?

Alignment starts at the strut. As Tim mentioned, check the shaft alignment to the log first.

The packing gland was too tight. It should not run hot. Hopefully the shaft isn't scored.

After the cutlass and packing was installed there was zero play in the shaft in a un bolted state. At that point I slid the shaft/coupling up to the trans coupling and started adjusting the engine front and rear mounts until I met the .003 difference side to side and top to bottom. This took a couple of hours to adjust the engine until I had the gap correct.

Having the packing nut too tight would cause the shaft to turn stiff. Loosen the packing nut and see what happens. The water shouldn't be hot.

Did you line it up after replacing the cutlass and packing? Spray some water on the shaft and trying spinning it. It should spin pretty easily.

Ok Thanks Pete....

For the packing material installation I followed the steps outlined on this site. My thought for tightning down the nut is...snugged it up aginst the packing and then 1/3 turn. Then put boat in water and leave it on the trailer and finish adjusting the nut there until I get the 3 drops per minute. Or is there something different I should do?

Did you put set screws in? Take any photos along the way?

With the new packing process this is what I found on a old thread. Is this the same for the PCM 454? I assume it is but want to check. My old packing had 2 pieces wrapped and staggered 180 degrees apart. The packing rope was under $ 5.00 I hope I purchased the correct packing from Deep Blue.

"Joe, wrap the flax rope around the drive shaft firmly and so that the rope overlaps itself (in a spiral fashion but touching). Then (with a very sharp blade) cut the rope where it overlaps so that you have both ends freshly cut. You will need at least 2 pieces but maybe 3 or more like this. Then coax these pieces into the packing gland. Stagger the gaps of each piece so they don't line up. Then take a socket (wrench) and roll it inside the gland to coax it into place so the the shaft will go through.

Fresh packing will not need to be tightened more than hand tight at first, but check your leakage in the water with the tranny in gear and running. About 1 drip every 15-20 seconds is good."