Strut bearing and prop shaft

When I purchased my 63 American Skier I noticed some side to side play in the propeller shaft at the strut. I figured it just needed a new strut bearing. I removed the prop and the strut and I noticed there was some wear in the propeller shaft where the bearing ran. The bearing appeared to be a little worn and flattened where the prop shaft had been resting. The shaft .010-.015 under the 1" shaft size. Can I have a little extra play here or do I need to replace the propeller shaft? The shaft appears to be brass but I could be wrong.
Also, regarding the strut bearings, I see quite a price difference between certain types of bearings. Should I go with the economy bearing or the higher end.

Thanks

Another question, since the strut has a 5" long hole for the bearing and most of the bearings are only 4" should I cut the bearing in half and insert flush in each end? I've seen some two piece assemblies to replace the single.

Thanks for the help

Peter I have to say I learn from your posts everyday.Is there something you don't know?

i dont want to undermine you guys, my vote says put in a $160.00 shaft, i think it will be cheaper in the long run, thats me though, i like spending other peoples money, have a stainless made its heard to tell how much fatigue your brass shaft has seen and sure as sh*t you'll get it back together and the shaft will snap

let us know if the coupling is loose, this should be a press fit and if its loose you'll also want to replace, General prop, or Mindermans her in ohio makes shafts
941-748-1528
you decide which route to go, it is relatively easy to replace

Ed, You can use the socket between the couling halves/progressively shorter bolt trick to get the shaft out. The only problem with this is the danger of warping the coupling faces. A smaller than the shaft dia. socket is placed agaist the shaft and then long bolts betwwen the couplings are tightened which pushes the shaft out. There also is a puller that they make for it. Getting it back in with a press fit on the coupling to the shaft requires heat on the coupling and the shaft chilled. We never used to do this in the "old" days but has become the norm now. Eric (I do it too) likes to press the shaft on to the coupling and take a cut in the lathe on the coupling face. You then need to press it off again to get it in the boat unless you want to pull the engine. Eric is correct that you may want to consider putting a new shaft in now to avoid all the work later!

Bruce, The gear puller can be used but you will still need to be carefull with not bending the flange. Since it grabs the flange on the outside it is more likely to bend than using the bolt holes which are closed to the centerline. (it's all in the leverage!) The puller that is available does use the bolt holes. Just be careful.

Edit, Use a 4 arm if possible. The more arms the better!!

I'll let it soak in WD40 over the winter.

My flange has threaded holes. I don't know if that is unusual, but I had never seen one before.