alignment

Betcha she got it in just right too. Plus she'll run for parts and pizza. Looks awesome in a bathing suit too.

john

Boats and girls don't mix? Not if this is your girl.


MM is a lucky guy.

For you new guys...this is BlondieGurl...helping to redo my motor. Gotta love a girl like this!

john

i am going with the v-block method.

bwooton wrote: well damn thats what i was afraid of. but thanks for the link. i guess the good news is, so far the shaft is looking good. this is going to sound stupid. but i didnt see any prices on that site. do you have to call?

That is Bucks own site and they sell through distributors. Click on the top "where to buy" and a map will come up.

Make sure you keep us informed about how you check the shaft for straightness. The V block and dial indicator as mentioned is the way to go.

well damn thats what i was afraid of. but thanks for the link. i guess the good news is, so far the shaft is looking good.

this is going to sound stupid. but i didnt see any prices on that site. do you have to call?

the stress cracks




so... is it done? i dont think pressing this is a good idea.

i meant the strut was a casting not a forging....i changed it before you caught it young luke ha ha, but also goes true for the coupling, most of them anyways. girls before boats???

btw, pete, casting, i know you caught that and i was testing you

8122pbrainard wrote: Not getting the coupling off the shaft may be a good sign that the boat hasn't been run much with the bent strut and the coupling hasn't fretted .

I was thinking the same thing. Bobby, guessing you have the strut off, take a long look at the inside of the cutlas bearing. The wear inside may give some indication of how long its been run like it is. Hang in there...this was my introduction to inboards and I survived! LOL

Greg B-you may want to be careful what you wish/ask for?!!?

glad to help baumanmt. LOL
while trying to pull the strut today i noticed some stress cracks. i got some pics and will post them when i can. i think i just need a new strut. where is the best place to get one? also could not get the coupling off the shaft so needless to say i did not get the shaft out of the boat. but those are NOT grooves in the shaft just slight burn from old packing.

i am going to take the strut and the shaft to school with me today. i am off work so i will have lots of time to mess with that strut. i am going to check the shaft for trueness and also see how deep those groves are. they are not as bad as they look in the pic. i dont have the money for a new shaft..... but i dont have the money to fix the hull when that one snaps either. catch 22. i will report my findings this afternoon.
eric how deep can those groovs be without causing worry? or is any to much? the coupling is solid on the end of the shaft no play. the trans is not leaking. and seems to spin easily. but i dont have anything to compare to.

oh the po did lots more that just drive the boat. he blew it up left it uncovered with the engine box up. put car tires on the tralier and lost more stupid stuff

Bobby, Give the press a shot at your strut. Like you said, you have nothing to loose. They usually are bent sideways pretty evenly but as Eric mentioned, sometimes they may have a slight twist. Eric goes after the twist with a bar but I've found that by locating the point of pressure from the ram ether fore or aft that it too will remove a twist. I feel that you have more control of the force in the press than with a bar. It will need to be overbent slightly because there is some spring back.

From the looks of the gap between the coupling halves, it sure looks like the PO moved the engine in a half fast alignment attempt after the strut got bent! At least it may have saved the trans from damage. Do check the output shaft like Eric said. Is there any ATF leakage at the output?

Greg, The marks on the shaft are from the log.

Edit: I was thinking backerds this morning. Eric is correct that with the coupling gap on the port side that it may be all in the strut. The PO didn't do a damn thing except run the boat!!

What are these marks on the shaft? Did the shaft rub against the log?

the gap does look bigger on the left side of the coupling

up and to the port, you got some work to do, the shaft should be centered in the log, your gonna have to kick the engine over to the left and up a touch, but..........it may be your strut kicking the shaft starboard....first things first, remove the shaft and get the strut straightend out, i clamp the struts to the side of my press and and then use a 1.125 bar with the bushings out to try to get the twist out. if you have access try it cause the struts are not cheap. you can use heat to soften it up a bit, but not a rosebud...flash heat it. i havnt lost one yet so good luck on that, re-install and see if it is centered if so start the alignment process.   you have to get this corrected. please let us know at this point your at what the alignment is with the feeler blades