In the yard, can't get the coupler off the end of the shaft

A

alkisearay

New Member
Jun 3, 2010
109
Seattle, WA
Boat Info
1994 330 DA
Engines
5.7L V Drives
Hey guys I need your assistance if possible. In the yard today and noticed the cutlass bearing was sticking out a little bit. I unscrewed the cuppler from the trnasmission but the end won't come off of the shaft. The yard guys tried heating it up, etc. Now they say to cut it off and get a new shaft. I'm not sure they know what they are doing. Any ideas? Yes the two set screws are off as well as the 4 bolts/nuts that hold it on to the transmission. BTW this is a 5.7 V-drive
 
Place a nut or couple of washers inside the coupler against the prop shaft then start to bolt the coupler halves together evenly
with the 4 bolts. This should push the shaft out of the coupler.
 
This is a V-Drive boat, not a straight shaft, so that trick won't work - there is nothing for the shaft to bear against. Normally, I attach a slide hammer to the shaft, after the prop has been removed. Excessive heating of the coupler is not a good idea, as the potential exists to damage the transmission output shaft seal, and even affect the heat treatment of the shaft.

Dale
 
Not being able to remove the coupler gives you 2 choices, cut and replace the shaft or remove the motor and V drive for better access to the coupler.
 
MasterFab said:
This is a V-Drive boat, not a straight shaft, so that trick won't work - there is nothing for the shaft to bear against. Normally, I attach a slide hammer to the shaft, after the prop has been removed. Excessive heating of the coupler is not a good idea, as the potential exists to damage the transmission output shaft seal, and even affect the heat treatment of the shaft.

Dale
Click to expand...

So does that mean I should re-connect the shaft to the transmission BEFORE I use the slide hammer? The yard guys uncoupled it from the transmisson before they tried the heat trick. But will the slide hammer hurt the transmission?
 
Masterfab, the nut in the coupler worked on my V drive. Not really sure why you think the coupler on a straight drive is any different.

Just a little harder to get to on the Vdrive.
 
You are correct - I failed to notice the OP has a Velvet Drive, not a ZF. On a ZF, the shaft passes through the transmission, and the coupler is reversed, and attaches to the forward end of the transmission. On these, the nut trick doesn't work, leaving the slide hammer as the most viable method. On the Velvet Drive, the nut trick will work, as long as you can worm your way under there to get it set up. Tighten the coupler evenly once the spacer is installed, and the shaft should pop out.

On a side note, if your yard removed the coupler from the transmission, before the shaft was free of the coupler, just exactly how did they intend to remove the coupler from the shaft? Have they done this before? This is a common job, and shouldn't be an issue for a competent crew.

Dale
 
Why are you trying to remove the shaft in the first place? There is a press made specifically to change the cutlass bearings without removing the shaft. Your yard should have one.....or rather every boat yard down here has one. Its about a 15 minute job to remove the prop, set up the press, slip the new bearing on the shaft then press the old cutlass bearing out with the new one and cut the old bearing off the shaft when the new one is in place.

Remember that the strut has set screws holding the cutlass bearing in place.
 
This isn't the only tool that does this job, but, it gives you the idea about what/how it should be done. As Cap'n Frank stated, there is no need to remove a shaft to change a cutlass bearing.

[video=youtube_share;FOwr3l6bkGA]http://youtu.be/FOwr3l6bkGA[/video]
 
I am assuming the "yard" does not have the press tool, and is trying to pull the shaft to get to the bearing. But, it may be worth considering that a shaft that's been in there for a number of years could do with a pull. That way, the shaft can be examined for pitting and wear, the shaft seal can be replaced, if necessary, and all the retaining hardware can be replaced too. It all comes down to how far the owner wants to go, and what level the boat is maintained at.

Dale
 
Sacrificing a $750 shaft and expensing another $4-800 in labor because the yard isn't properly equipped or because you want to examine the shaft end for pitting........if its stuck that tight, it isn't worn........seems questionable to me since the coupler and shaft are not normally considered wear items.

Personally, I'd find the a boat yard with the right equipment and save the shaft until there was a more obvious reason for destroying it than a cutlass bearing replacement.
 
I agree completely. I did not mean to give the impression that the shaft should be destroyed, merely that if it was my boat, and the shaft was of unknown condition, that I would pull it, perform any shaft seal maintenance (and probably reposition the seal slightly, to wind up on virgin shaft), clean it thoroughly, and re-assemble with a new cutlass bearing. If the owner is confident in the condition of these other components, then by all means find a yard to replace the bearing only, and go boating.

Dale
 
Well thought I'd give an update and have a couple more questions. Thanks so much for the responses.
Since the shaft appeared to be a little out I went ahead and cut it. Did the labor myself. 50 minutes and 5 saw blades. The end was so frozen into the coupler I tried putting it in a vise and tried to pound it out but it only moved a little. So I have a new shaft and coupler. FYI the yard never had seen a tool that performed the cutlass bearing with the shaft on.
Couple other smaller items - when I the boat came out of the water I noticed the shafts had a ring near where the shafts come out of the hull. They are not zincs. What are they for? Do I need them? I ask this as the yard forgot to install it with the new shaft (it has to be fitted during installation and has one screw to tighten).

Also when installing the stern plate Zinc I rotated the studs that hold it in place. Opps. Do I have to replace them now or do I just tighten them and make sure they are attached to the bonding system wires inside the boat? Thanks everyone
 
1. I believe the ring had one of two purposes. I have been told these but I am not sure I believe either. The first was designed to force some water back into the packing gland for lubrication. The second was to retain the shaft at the cutlass should the shaft come out of the coupler.

2. If the studs turned and they are bolts rather than studs you may have a problem inside. Mine has a bonding wire attached via a ring terminal. Normal corrosion and turning of the bolt broke the ring terminal off. No good way to re-attach. On the next haul out I am going to replace my bolts with threaded rod. Double nuts on the inside so I can re-attache ring terminal and double nuts outside as the base for the zinc plate. All sealed with 5400. Never plan on removing the studs and never want them to turn.
 
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