Strut Lash Q&A

Keith Poe · Post by **Keith Poe** » Apr 18th, '13, 22:57

One of my shafts has a small amount of movement from the side of the strut and spins freely and the other requires i use two hands to get it to spin.

They are unbolted at the trans couplers.

How tight or free should they be generally speaking ?

Need help school me please i don't know.

It's my understanding they have about 500 hrs on them.

So should i try centering them and water lubricating the one that's tight or ?

Thank you very much for any help .

Pete Fallon · Post by **Pete Fallon** » Apr 18th, '13, 23:12

Keith,
I would use some water and dish soap to lube the cutlass bearings and then spin them. If they are still tight I would check to see if there are and bends in the shaft or strut barrel, the cutlass bearing might be worn out also. The should both spin freely when disconnected from the trannies, no binding. Only a few things that would make them bind, bent shaft, bent strut or worn out cutlass bearing. Make sure they are in the normal position, lined up in shaft log tube and strut cutlass, you should be able to see the old wear marks on the shafts and where they usually ride. I think it might be a bent shaft on the tight one. If you have side to side movement on the other shaft your cutlass bearing is worn out.
Pete Fallon

Keith Poe · Post by **Keith Poe** » Apr 20th, '13, 05:30

Thank you very much Pete i will go through everything in a few hrs.

Hope your weekend is great

all the best

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Apr 20th, '13, 10:18

Motor, shaft, strut alignment will also make shaft turn tight...
If disconnected, shaft hanging makes for shaft tuff to spin...although not two hands tough.

Last item...if a petroleum product was used on that rubber cutless...they can swell up tight to the shaft. Thats why Peter mentioned dish soap to lube bearing.

Carl

Keith Poe · Post by **Keith Poe** » Apr 20th, '13, 23:15

Thanks you guys

Pete thank you very much with your information i was able to dial everything in.

The cutlass bearings seem like they need to be replaced they have a small amount of play.

Does worn cutlass bearing cause vibration or ?

The one that was tight was not bent it was tight because it was way out of alignment.

I spent about 3-4 hrs working on the alignment till i had a good feel for what was what and why and how so i can be sure i understand it.

The side visual of wear marks on the shaft at the struts was very helpful and i set the couplers so i could not get a 10 on the feeler gage in between the couplers.

I'm going to buy some aluminum spacers to finalise the motor alignment on Monday i want to get the cut to closely match my heights and as long as i can on my motor beds.

Thank you again made my day pleasant not reinventing the wheel.

Pete Fallon · Post by **Pete Fallon** » Apr 21st, '13, 00:02

Keith,
Usually you will get vibration from worn cutlass bearings, if there is any side play or up and down play replace the cutlass bearings. They are cheaper than reworking a tranny. Most alignments are between .003 to .004 on a feeler gauge. After the boat is launched and has set for a few days then go ahead and re-align the shaft couplings with a feeler gauge .003 is about as good as it gets. When you re-align the engines on the beds use peices of Formica cut to the shape of the motor mounts for spacers. I have installed 3 sets of engines on my boat and I re-used the Formica from the original installation back in 1961, I also reused the old wood beds which were in great condition. I see that you have made new engine beds, if I were you I would glass over the wood or make sure that there is atleast 5 to 6 coats of thinned epoxey on ALL of the Surfaces, and use stainless steel or the best quality galvinized bolts, nuts and washers to hold the wood beds into main stringers.

Navatech · Post by **Navatech** » Apr 21st, '13, 06:10

Keith Poe wrote:The cutlass bearings seem like they need to be replaced they have a small amount of play.

How small is "small"?!...

Keith Poe wrote:Does worn cutlass bearing cause vibration or ?

Worn cutlass bearings are the main cause for vibration in an otherwise well dialed in installation.

Keith Poe wrote:The one that was tight was not bent it was tight because it was way out of alignment.

Check the other engine's alignment too! Its cutlass' bearings wear might be due to misalignment!

Keith Poe · Post by **Keith Poe** » Apr 22nd, '13, 04:24

Pete Fallon wrote:Keith,
Usually you will get vibration from worn cutlass bearings, if there is any side play or up and down play replace the cutlass bearings. They are cheaper than reworking a tranny. Most alignments are between .003 to .004 on a feeler gauge. After the boat is launched and has set for a few days then go ahead and re-align the shaft couplings with a feeler gauge .003 is about as good as it gets. When you re-align the engines on the beds use peices of Formica cut to the shape of the motor mounts for spacers. I have installed 3 sets of engines on my boat and I re-used the Formica from the original installation back in 1961, I also reused the old wood beds which were in great condition. I see that you have made new engine beds, if I were you I would glass over the wood or make sure that there is atleast 5 to 6 coats of thinned epoxey on ALL of the Surfaces, and use stainless steel or the best quality galvinized bolts, nuts and washers to hold the wood beds into main stringers.

Thank you Pete i will add more coats and have SS bolts and aluminum plates the mounts sit on that are being used for shims.

I read to set the coupler it at 10 in one place and 3 in another and will set it at 3.

She will remain on the trailer so after my first sea trial i will check her again and can check her in the water at the dock.

I need to figure out how to make a template for the diamond plate decking.

I need something some what ridged and easy to cut and can use a compass to mark 3' roll of black paper laying on a 10'x4' sheet of drywall then transfer it to the diamond plate.

I was hoping not to buy 1/4" ply maybe a combination of a roll of black paper and 1/2" drywall 4'x10' sheets as i can just keep cutting the paper verses cutting the plywood then lay the paper over the diamond plate.

i was thinking about the deck screws going in to the wood and thought i should look in to a SS or lead shield or something to receive a machine screw maybe even a hard plastic ?

Thanks again for your help.

This is a aluminum motor mount shim 4" x 7" 3/4" thick.
Installing them with 5200 and 1/2" SS lag bolts.

Keith Poe · Post by **Keith Poe** » Apr 22nd, '13, 04:27

Navatech wrote: How small is "small"?!...
Worn cutlass bearings are the main cause for vibration in an otherwise well dialed in installation.
Check the other engine's alignment too! Its cutlass' bearings wear might be due to misalignment!

Thank you i will do the first sea trial see if there is any vibration and even if there is not i will replace them.

Where should i buy them from ?

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Apr 22nd, '13, 07:12

Pulling a cutless bearing usually requires having the shaft out..unless you have one of those fancy portable cutless bearing puller tools.

Bearing s are pretty inexpensive and can be found at bought at most marine stores or online. List price on the largest 1-1/2" shaft Cutless bearing is $150...and usually can be had at pretty steep discounts

If in doubt or borderline condition...now when you have props off and shafts loose it may be the best time to just replace, start fresh and keep out of the equation.

My .02

Carl

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Apr 22nd, '13, 10:15

Be very careful about putting SS screws through aluminum plate as galvanic corrosion is sure to result if you don't use Tefgel or some other type of insulator.

Navatech · Post by **Navatech** » Apr 22nd, '13, 15:50

Keith Poe wrote:Where should i buy them from ?

It doesn't really matter. They are a standard product. Much like screws or bolts.

Keith Poe · Post by **Keith Poe** » Apr 23rd, '13, 00:46

Thanks guys i watched a bunch of videos at YouTube on cutlass bearings lots of good 411 there.

I've been lucky with corrosion there is very little humidity here and being on a trailer seems to help a lot very low maintenance compared to being in the water especially a hot harbor full of power lines and an Edison out put

2, 5' X 10' sheets of 3/16 about 100# each after trimming them $300.00 per sheet.

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Apr 24th, '13, 07:56

Nice and shiny!! Looks good. Good luck. I look forward to seeing the finished product!

Keith Poe · Post by **Keith Poe** » Apr 26th, '13, 00:51

Rawleigh wrote:Nice and shiny!! Looks good. Good luck. I look forward to seeing the finished product!

Thank you Rawleigh

Finished the motors today and pulled the chain falls and Gantry.

Working on all the mechanical relocation of fuel lines and bilge pumps etc. before installing all the diamond plate.

Hopefully the diamond plate will install with out to many problems and i don't screw it up and the mirror finish wears off quickly.

I found some brass inserts for wood that machine screws go in to.

Going to see if i can find the right size and give them a try.

Love the low maintenance and durability of diamond plate vs gel coat no contest commercial-grade.

Charlie J · Post by **Charlie J** » Apr 26th, '13, 05:47

having my port cutlas bearing replaced
they droped the strut, instead of pulling the shaft,
might be easyer

Keith Poe · Post by **Keith Poe** » Apr 27th, '13, 23:07

Charlie J wrote:having my port cutlas bearing replaced
they droped the strut, instead of pulling the shaft,
might be easyer

Good point

bertram31.com

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