Indy 85 sun sport bushings

[todds 85]

does any one know the best way to get the bushings out of the strut? I bought this boat not to long ago. I remember these boats when they came out and they were the top of the line ski boats. It has 299 hrs on it. I have taken all the teak off and sanded, reoiled. Spent alot of time cleaning the inside. Installed 2 batterys on a switch, changed impeller and trying to put bushings in the strut. it has a small vibration. I plan on using it this season, then im going to redo inside an fresh gell coat. Any advice would be appreciated. I plan on keeping this boat for a long time

[Hagman]

I have had my comp sense new . At 1200 hrs I had the shaft/ strut bushings replaced and they pulled the shaft to do it . Are you sure yours need replacing. I would change the prop first and see if that helps.. PS some times you can’t tell if a prop is bad just by looking at it. I have one 3 blade that’s been to the shop twice it looks like new and for some reason it runs ruff.

[michael hunter]

Are you running the engine out of the water? It is normal for the prop to rotate in neutral with out water. The strut bushing will vibrate when not in the water.

[todds 85]

i have had the prop replaced. I can see were the bushings are wore on one side. I have the shaft out but its hard to get those out. I was tould never to run out off water so i have not. Can they balance the drive shaft or do i need to replace it? Thanks for your help

[michael hunter]

Take the shaft and roll it on a flat surface. Make sure its straight and true. If it doesn't look perfect take it in and have it straightened or replaced. A few years back I had a slight vibration in my Sunsport. After weeks of checking all possibilities it was solved when I replaced the points during routine maintenance. Apparently it had a slight misfire causing the vibration. Check the points they should be set to 29-33 dwell or .018 point gap.

[Salty87]

shops have special tools to pull the bushings out. i've towed my boat to my prop shop before and they popped them out while i waited. they can tell you if your shaft is straight too.

[Okie Boarder]

There are a couple tricks to getting the bushings out and back in.

To get them out you could just use a sawzall with a long blade and carefully cut them so they have a slot in them. From there you can peel them over or tap them out. Another method is to tap them out with a rod just smaller than the opening but big enough to capture their edges.

To put them back in you may just have to tap them in place and put the set screw in. If that doesn't work you can use a threaded rod with nuts and washers on either side of the strut and as you thread the nuts, it will "press" them in.

I got mine out with the sawzall method. They basically slid right in with a slight tapping to re-install. Then I put in the set screw. Does yours have a set screw?

Regarding the wear, the others are correct that you will want to look at that more closely. It shouldn't wear uneven and uneven wear is indicative of a bent shaft or improper alignment. You will have to take out the shaft to replace the bushings, so have it checked and if it is straight go through a proper alignment process of the shaft and coupling at the transmission.

[todds 85]

everyone is on it. It does have set screws in it. this is great to talk to people with supra's. I have yet to see any one around town that has one (indianapolis in) i will keep everybody informed on my progress. The weather is going to be nice sunday so i hoping to get in the water. Thanks again!!!!!!!

[sybrmike]

I'm still in the process of reassembly, but faced all of the above. The strut was bent (evidenced by wear on the shaft log), the bushings were worn, & the shaft slightly bent.

I pulled the strut & removed the bushings by using a hacksaw blade to cut a slit through the bushing & then pried them out. Cutting by hand took a while, but had better control so didn't nick the strut. Installed new Visconite bushings with a rubber mallet & piece of wood backing (make sure to align the grooves in the two bushings with each other). I used a dab of locktite on the set screws.

Had the strut (~$50) and shaft (~$90) straightened at a marine service center. It can be hard to eyeball a double tapered shaft since the ends don't contact when laid on a flat surface. Mine appeared to roll true, but measured 0.010" out when chucked up.