E38 strut bearing

Does anyone have experience in replacing the strut bearing on an E38, vintage '84? Is there a set screw? Do you need to remove the prop shaft? Peter

strut bearing replacement

Yes, you have to remove the prop shaft to access the strut bearing. The hardest part is to get the coupleing off of the engine end of the shaft. You either remove this coupler or remove the prop & pull the engine! I have owned 3 Ericson's & worked on 2 Catalina's for friends and have yet to be successful at removing the coupleing!! It seizes to the shaft very well. I've tried Liquid Wrench for 2 weeks, made a special puller, heated with an acetylene torch till RED hot (VERY DANGEROUS, I don't recommend trying it!!!) with NO luck. Have ended up cutting the shaft with a Saws All. On some boats this is not a big problem as you may have enough room to cut 2 " off the shaft, have a machine shop cut a new keyway & dimple the shaft for set screws. The other option is to cut the coupleing in half. The easy way to do this is to drill a series of 3/8 dia. holes and then remove the remaining material with a burr & air motor or Roto Zip. A new shaft is $175.00 $200.00 in Michigan. The coupling is about $60.00 from marinepartssource.com. Once you have the shaft out it's really quite easy. Take a hacksaw, remove the blade and insert inside bearing, reattach the frame with the blade in "upside down", and CAREFULLY cut through the bearing. When you have split the bearing it taps out easily. Hopefully someone else has a secret on how to get the coupler off, as I would sure like to find an easier way!! Is your cutlass bearing really that bad? Good luck and let me know how you made out!! Bud E-34 "Escapade"

A couple of years ago I did a repower. Had the installation done at the Berkeley Marine Center in Berkeley Ca. My recollection is that the yard said they had a tool that allowed them to press out the cutlas bearing with out having to remove the shaft. Might be worth calling a few yards and see if somebody has something along those lines.

removing coupling from shaft

I have successfully removed the coupling from the shaft by unbolting the coupling from the engine and placing a socket wrench socket between the coupling and the engine. The socket needs to be just smaller than the diameter of the shaft. Then, using longer bolts. reattach the coupling to the engine and tighten the bolts each a little at a time. The socket pushes against the shaft and forces the shaft out of the coupling. You may need to stack two sockets to get the shaft all the way out.
tom

Tom;
Tried that on a previous boat and BENT the flange!! Ended up replacing the reverseing gear on that one anyhow, but would use a LOT of caution on doing it that way. If the shaft moves fairly easily your OK, but you can do other damage. I know cause I've done it! Strongly recommend using an anti-sieze compound when you do reassemble the shaft so that you or someone else can get it apart in the future. Still looking for a magic bullet to make it easier. Bud E34 "Escapade"

Peter,

Check out this web site. It shows an tool assembly for replacing the cutless bearing without pulling the shaft. The prop has to be pulled to get the old and new bearing off and on.

http://www.strutpro.com/index.html

Sea Ya

Walt

Here's a comprehensive article on the subject:

http://www.cruisingworld.com/cw_article.php?articleID=1181