2 piece cutless or 1 piece?

trying to buy new cutless bearing for my 96 supersport, the dealer wants me to buy the 2 piece at 92 a pop yikes! they are the traditional brass shelled, skidim has the 2 piece for 65 made from vesconite thermoplastic and i have found duramax marine makes a one piece but cant find the right size, and nautiqueparts.com has the one piece for 125, any thoughts on use of 1 or 2 piece?

deepblueyachtsupply has a 4 1/2" long cutless bearings but my strut shaft housing is 6" i guess i would need two and cut them? only nautiqueparts.com has the full one piece from what i have found

4 1/2" should be perfect, installed from the back.

Unless you just want full length for some reason.

Check with deepblue I could have swore I've seen longer lengths.

ok thanks does it need to be brass or non-metallic, i was gonna get the brass shelled.

Nate,
Again, I agree about the traditional brass shelled rubber. It has worked for MANY years!! I've had problems with plastic bearings in industry. The plastic for the cutlass is relatively new and I don't know if they have proven themselves in a marine strut application yet. Plus, I'm a old guy who likes to stay with known things that work!!

does anyone know if the struts from white lake marine come preloaded with bearings? i ordered a strut and have tried emailing and calling to find out and the description under the strut on their site does not say, so i assumed it would not come preloaded with the bearing but i wanted to ask people here as well since they won't respond

All of the struts that are coming from CC dealers these days come with strut bushings installed, I believe. I have purchased 2 from White Lake and N3 over the last year or so.

I don't think I would order anything without some kind of response.


I am a huge fan of the freezer trick!   I amazed myself!
Only I leave them in the freezer for at least 24 hours.

I called skiDIM but they do not carry struts for my super sport because they said they don't sell enough, i ordered one from nautiqueparts.com because they are a subsidiary of White Lake Marine and i am trying to get the boat going for this weekend for family coming in. its funny because i received tracking info and emails for a receipt but no one could answer my email if the bearing is installed so i ordered that from deepblueyachsupply.com in case

sucks because i don't like to order without knowing the product but i'm in a bind

Nate,
Struts are notorious for poor machining jobs on the base and the holes. Don't count on it just bolting up. You must check the alignment to the hull hole and log.

The 5200 is moisture cure so the cure time depends on the humidity. Cound on at least 5 days The instructions will tell you 7 days for a full cure.

Nate,
Yes it's in there and actually my starting point since alignment starts at the strut and then you go forward. Take a look at it and if there is something you're unsure of post the question.

I take it you haven't watched it yet???

BuffaloBFN wrote: I think 4200 is worth considering.

Greg,
It's certainly not a bad option.

i have watched the video, but i have not gotten down to look at the coupling flange because the damn v-drive is a pain

watching the strut alignment video and i am not sure how do you keep the tranny flange stationary to rotate the prop shaft and rotate it at 90* increments to check if the shaft towards the front is bent

no i did not, i thought the removal of the bolts came later in the video but i guess i got that confused