Engine Alignment... and more...

[Squeeg333]

Hey guys, so I was trying to tackle my engine alignment tonight but I came up with some issue. I was able to move the engine around to attempt to get the engine aligned, got it pretty close but was seeing some strange numbers. So did a little more looking and found out that when the shaft is fully uncoupled from the v-drive, and the shaft coupling pulled away from the v-drive coupling a little ways (to get the prop shaft coupling off of the shoulder fit on the v-drive coupling), that the prop shaft isn't sitting in it's "natural" position.

The prop shaft, with no pressure of alignment with the bolts, or the fit of the couplings, is offset to the starboard by about 3/8". So, when pulling the couplings together, the shaft actually has to be pulled to the Port side by that amount to mate up the couplings. So, I'm at an impass.

I think what I am going to do is butt the couplings together as they are both in their natural position, and check the alignment that way. If both starboard and port sides are the same, it tells me (I think) that I have to more the whole engine to the starboard. However, and I hope this is the case, that they aren't aligned, and I need to move either the front or back of the engine to clear up the majority of this. The reason I say that is because I have a very small amount of room that I can move the back of the engine to the starboard (the muffler is just about to hit the starboard v-drive divider). So I hope I only need to move the front of the engine to clear up this gap.

What do you guys think. Does this make sense. If I would have thought about it, I would have taken a photo of the coupling.

Any other options you guys can think of?? Like I said, I've only got a small amount of room to move the back of the engine to the starboard, so I don't have much fudge room for the back...

[docdrs]

Call me now 705 762 2201. I posted on my phone but lost it, I have done this on my 09

This postv will self destruct in 30 to 600 minutes

[Squeeg333]

Well, I'm happy to report that I was successful in getting the engine and prop shaft coupling aligned. With phone call help from Doug (Docdrs), and some advice from Al (Cab), I was able to tackle this.

As I mentioned previously, when the coupling bolts were removed, and the two couplings were pulled away from each other so that the fit on the v-drive coupling was not engaged to the prop shaft coupling, the propeller shaft would naturally sit about 1/8" to the Starboard of the v-drive coupling. Sitting in this orientation, when mated up, the prop shaft was constantly being pulled to the port side. You can see in the first two photos below the offset of the two couplings.

So, to align the couplings I had to move the front of the engine. I loosened the front two trunnions by releasing the two trunnion pins. Then, using a crow bar, I was able to move the engine to the starboard until I was able to get them to line up. To check that, I repeatedly would check how the fit on the v-drive coupling affected the prop shaft when the two coupling were brought together. As you can see from the third photo, I had to move the engine about 1/4". Marking the trunnions prior to moving the engine was important, so you know where you started, and how far you've gone. The last two photos show how the coupling mates up now, just like it should. The photos have a bolt in them, but that bolt slips in very easily, meaning the couplings are concentric, and the prop shaft, when coupled with the v-drive, is still in it's 'natural' position.

Once I got the two coupling concentric, the next task was an engine alignment. This involved a lot of minor tweaking of both the front and back trunions, and more up and down movements than the side to side.

When raising or lowering the front of the engine, be sure to make a mark on a flat of the nut you will be turning and the top of the trunnion, so you know how many revolutions, or 'flats', you have turned the nut. Also, when raising or lowering the back of the engine, be sure to make identification marks so you know how many turns you've made, and to help you make smaller incremental changes (I marked the threads and the flat part of the trunnion in several locations).

I was able to get everything aligned to within .002 or less. It took me several hours to do all of this, as I was doing this by myself, but this is MUCH better than it was, and I am very pleased that the couplings are aligned, and everything is in it's natural state. The propeller turns much easier now as well.

Thanks again for all of the advise I got. This was kind of fun - though my knees weren't happy with me for about a day.

[riveredge]

Nice job, alignment is a PITA but it's good to do every few years (or check it and hope you don't have to do it) and very satisfying when the boat drives that much smoother...