Strut bearing and more on 98 SN

Started to do some things to the 98 SN I bought last summer to make sure it is in the condition it should be in. by the end of the season last year it had over 1100 hours on it. Noticed some rudder play and the strut bearing seemed to be in need of replacement.
I have done a lot of reading of post about these projects and got off to a good start. Yesterday pulled the seats and tank out for better access to the rudder. Also now found that I have a lot of cleaning to due back there. Looks like a lot of black mold or something from years of being hidden.
After getting the coupling off the shaft with several tricks learned here on this forum, I now have the shaft out and can go to work on the cutlass bearing.
But now have some questions about the shaft now that I have it out and can see all of it. It looks like the shaft log may have been run too tight and not getting enough water over the years. When I bought the boat I adjusted it to give me 3-6 drops per minute and always keep an eye on this thru the season. The shaft is very shiny and is down to .990 and 997 in a couple of spots.
There is also some sign of a little wear at the cutlass end but nothing worse than .998.
Is this bad enough to require the shaft be replaced. Since I did not have issues with sealing last season I assume new packing will seal OK also. Should I go with Gore or stick with the standard packing that was originally in it.

I also have not been able to locate a bearing like the one in my strut. this looks to be brass with plastic inside it. I have only found brass 1 and 2 piece for the 1" shaft with 1 1/4" strut.

shaft wear in the log area.


shaft Wear in the strut area.


type of strut bearing.


Puling the coupler off the shaft using a deep socket.

Mpost wrote: type of strut bearing.

That's just a normal run of the mill strut bearing. The black stuff is rubber with a brass shell bonded to it, That's why it makes all those funny loud noises if you put the boat in gear on the trailer with a dry strut bearing, the rubber is lubricated by the water .

Original equipment on your boat.

Here's a link to SkiDim showing some strut bearings and applications.

I'm sure you can find them elsewhere for less

link

Pete,
Thanks for that info. I will plan on doing that check for straightness. I checked alignment prior to pulling it and everything looked very good. Within .002 all the way around the coupler. I will check again after replacing the cutlass bearing.
Ken,
Thanks for the link. I have looked at SkiDim, and PN. and some google searching but did not see anything like the original. I see now that the link Pete gave me is similar but a 1 piece. I will most likely go with the two piece ones. The original is a two piece and each one is 3" and there is a 1/2" between them, and the one toward the engine is a 1/2" in from the lip of the Cutlass?. The cutlass is 7.5" in length.

Also tore into the exhaust this afternoon. Will be easier to clean up the bilge now, and found a rattle inside the muffler. Trying to decide if I should fix the muffler or replace it with a Y pipe.

GottaSki wrote: Suggest having it thrown into a chuck and reface the surface. Usually the shaft side warps and the transmission flange escapes ok.

Yes but then the engine has to come out.

Personally, I've never had a problem with warping the coupling face using the socket and long bolt method.

Duane in Indy wrote: 8122pbrainard wrote: Martin, But, now's the idea time to check it for straightness. Set it up in some V blocks and go at it with a dial indicator.. Pete also assumed that you were going to check the FACE of the flange also while you were at it, he just did not tell you.

8122pbrainard wrote: Yes but then the engine has to come out.

GottaSki wrote: I've yet to see that method of flange removal not warp a flange enough to make one loose one's marbles trying to get it aligned again.

It actually went quite well with some patience. After removing the two set bolts and tightening up the 4 puller bolts with my 3/8 ratchet (no breaker bar), I sprayed some Deep Creep into the holes and on both ends of the coupler. Let is sit for an hour, and then started tightening again. With only the short 3/8 ratchet it popped and started moving. It did take close to 90 minutes of wrenching by using very small increments with the nuts to prevent to much force on one part of the coupler.
I suppose I could have gotten out the impact wrench and sped things up, but I figured that would cost me in the end.
From what I am seeing as far as paint on these parts this has never been done on this boat in 1100 hours.

Cleaned up the little bit of rust on the inside part of both couplers. The faces showed no rust at all, Fit them back together and they are flat.
Plan on checking the shaft today. Parts on order cutlass.

Finally got the Cutlass bearing in the mail. I went with the single 6" style. Thanks for that link Pete. I don't know why I was not looking close enough at the pictures of bearings before your post.
Installed the bearing and after checking the shaft for straightness as recommended, (.002-.003) I slid it in the new bearing and It is nicely centered in the hole thru the bottom.
Coupler is back on and matches up with the transmission within .002.
I used blue Loctite on the coupler lock bolts and the safety collar. Will also safety wire the coupler locking bolts.
Used gore for packing, I have always paid close attention to the drips on my prop shaft and plan to do the same with the new stuff. I Prefer more drips for the lubrication and am not worried about the water in the bilge so much as the plug comes out and is drained after each use. Boat is on a small lake and on the lift all the time.
Also got the bilge cleaned up pretty good while waiting for parts.
Rudder, Gas tank, and exhaust work tomorrow