strut alignment

[Salty87]

has anyone had to get their strut re-aligned?

with the coupler disconnected from the transmission, my driveshaft is to the far side of the shaft log. it's not centered at all. i can move the shaft over by hand but i'm not getting a good alignment that way.

tell me i don't need to remove the strut...

[Salty87]

dupe dupe dupe

[DKJBama92Mariah]

Salty , you probably need to remove the strut. It really isn't that bad though. I had this same problem when I replaced my strut a coupla yrs ago. I ended up having to remount the strut, using the driveshaft to line it up with the shaft log.

Are you sure the strut isn't bent or tweaked a little bit. How do your cutlass bearings look. Compare the front one to the back one.

[Salty87]

the cutlass bearing is only about 250 hours old. i replaced it when i replaced a shaft a few years ago. i'll replace it again if necessary.

the coupler and driveshaft are stuck together. i'd rather leave them alone if possible but that means the strut has a driveshaft in it now so it's hard to get a good look at the front side of it. i think the strut is just tweaked to the starboard side a little bit.

i guess i'll just have to suck it up and deal with it. get the coupler off the driveshaft and go from there.

DKJ...did you replace your strut or straighten it? if straighten...with a torch???


thanks

[wotan2525]

Mine was bent at some point and when I went through the rebuild I basically just took everything to this little shop down the street from me and told them to make it "right."

They said the strut was pretty tweaked and I think they charged me $40 to straighten it. I also replaced the driveshaft (since the keyways were slightly worn) and the coupler. It was worth it.

This "little shop" is the OEM for all of these parts for Supra, MC, Malibu, and everyone else. Marine Associates in Hudson, WI. Literally less than a mile from.

http://www.marineassociates.com/

[Salty87]

my alignment had always been great. the shaft that was on the boat originally broke about 200 hours after i got it...the key slot got ground down to the point it wouldn't hold. the shaft didn't snap or anything. i still have it, great as a pry bar or rock smasher.

in fact, i'm bringing it back to the prop shop to order a new shaft because i can't get the coupler off the shaft that's currently in the hull. gonna have to cut it somehow.

anyway, the strut was jacked to starboard pretty good. i'm guessing my old mushy stringers hid the problem. a reliable source on another board said the shaft is most likely bent too. i'm going to check with the prop shop to see if the can get the coupler off or cut it for me.

DKJ, you were right. the strut was pretty easy to drop.

my rebuild has been dragging on for a year now. the crew is restless...
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a10/salty87/DSCF0173.jpg

[DKJBama92Mariah]

Now THIS is a bent strut. I still have no idea what I hit.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v55/dkjpika/Boat/BentStrutPic-1-1.jpg

Salty,
You can get the coupler off the shaft but will probably need to replace the shaft anyway. That shaft will probably eat sawzall blades for breakfast trying to cut it. Beating the shit out of the coupler with a hammer doesn't work either. Here's how you do it.

Start with the coupler disconnected from the tranny and the nut off the coupler side of the shaft. Stick a socket or some other appropriately sized hunk of metal between the end of the tranny output shaft (in the center output flange) and the end of the driveshaft (in the center of the coupler). Then attach the coupler and flange together with the mounting bolts with the socket still in the center. As you tighten the coupler bolts, the socket will push the shaft out of the coupler.

BTW, pretty labs.

DKJ

[Salty87]

mine's bent to the other side. it's almost embarrassing, had the boat apart forever and never took a look at it that closely. eh, not the only thing that didn't go according to plan. lol

shaft ate 8 sawzall blades and around 5 hours of daylight in total. i had tried to tighten down on the bolts with a stout nut taped to the end of the shaft. i can see where it scored the shaft a bit but that's about it.

most of the bend appears to be near the base. no way this could have happened during rebuild and there was no vibration before...

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a10/salty87/DSCF0203.jpg




"BTW, pretty labs."......thanks

[wotan2525]

for what its worth... I'm pretty sure my strut didn't bent until my stringers were rotten enough to let the engine move. The engine moved and bent the strut. Mine went to the starboard side so far that the drive shaft wore a hole through the log. Good luck!