Nonstick shaft coupling reassembly

[rigspelt]

I successfully did the nasty last summer and got our shaft coupling disconnected from the prop shaft to remove the shaft from the boat for inspection and maintenance. Not unexpectedly, the miserable part was getting the coupling to slide off the shaft. As I approach reassembly, I wonder what product to use between the shaft and coupling to make the job easier next time.

Over in the Sailnet Gear & Maintenance forum, Maine Sail reported on a succesful 2-year trial of Tef-Gel at http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-m...-complete.html. Don suggests Never Seize, but on purely theoretical grounds I wonder about the mix of metals in such products and whether they can contribute to corrosion around seawater.

I can't get my hands on Tef Gel here in eastern Canada (Western Marine in Vancouver sells it to distributors only). I managed to get a tube of Duralac, and wonder if it might work. Lanacote is available in the Maritimes (Binnacle), and I wonder if it might work too.

Thoughts?

(Photo: The "before" state. Everything is disassembled, cleaned and repainted now. The insides were in surprisingly good shape, but dry with a slight bit of rust in places. I had the coupling, shaft and cutless bearing professionally inspected.)

[tenders]

I've had to do this three times in the 17 years I've had my Ericson 32 with a V-drive. I've tried lithium grease and Nevr-Seize. Neither had any discernible effect, it's a bear of a job with anything but a Sawzall. 2 years is a meaningless test; if you're taking your shaft apart every two years there's something seriously wrong with you and/or your boat; you should stick to reading Patrick O'Brien novels.

Worst job ever in terms of the number of curse words or hours of effort per inch of progress.

[policecentral]

Shaft Coupling

I would not worry about "the next time" too much. It is clear from your photo that you have a stainless shaft, so I would recondition as you have done, reassemble, and let the next guy worry about it. There should be no reason to perform this procedure very often. At most, you might want to put a fine bead of 5200 around the aft end of the coupling to keep some amount of salt moisture from seeping between the coupling/shaft.

I would suggest that with the shaft/wheel out of the boat, take it to a marine machine shop and have the shaft checked for straightness and the wheel balanced. Of course, while everything is out, also have the cutlass bearing replaced. Good to go for another 20 years.

JSM
Ranger 30 Northern Light
Savannah

[ne57301]

I've had to do this three times in the 17 years I've had my Ericson 32 with a V-drive. I've tried lithium grease and Nevr-Seize. Neither had any discernible effect, it's a bear of a job with anything but a Sawzall. 2 years is a meaningless test; if you're taking your shaft apart every two years there's something seriously wrong with you and/or your boat; you should stick to reading Patrick O'Brien novels.

Worst job ever in terms of the number of curse words or hours of effort per inch of progress.

I know Maine Sail and it wouldn't surprise me if he pulls his prop shaft every 2 years. He is - umm - meticulous to say the least. His boat is flawless. But I agree that 2 years isn't enough of a test to convince me either. I think I'd go with Lanocote but I have no concrete data to base it on.

No way I would ever put 5200 on it. Nope, not me.

[gfatula]

I have not removed the shaft from my "new boat" yet. I did replace the A-4 with one of Don's last May. Sweet! The cutlass bearing is O.K. I might be interested in pulling the shaft out next winter. This is a 1977 I-28 that was stored for 20 years and although I don't expect any problems this season I plan to get to the shaft's maintenance items next. All clamps, etc. are new and the stuffing box is fine.

Is thare a "magic" procedure for loosening this flange? I have enough access to soak things with PB Blaster and use heat if necessary. In my ignorance I was hoping that a few sessions of heating, tapping and PB Blaster would get things to loosen up. I can imagine a contrived "slide hammer" that would fit around the shaft and allow me to direct some impact force against the shaft end of the flange.

If anyone has any ideas I will greatly appreciate them.

I did come across a piece of advice I had not considered but it is probably a standard among those in the know. Putting a SS hose clamp around the shaft ahead of the stuffing box as a fail safe in case the shaft frees itself somehow from the flange and "decides" to back out of the shaft log on its own. Does anyone do that?

Thanks,

George

[msauntry]

Not to brag, but I had the easiest time getting my shaft out of the coupling.

Just go pick up some friends at a dock and make sure your shaft set screw is loose. Then engage reverse and wait for the hilarity to ensue... You get a bonus if your prop backs out enough to jam your rudder!
Ah, that was a fun day. Dove overboard with a hammer and pounded it back into the coupling and was underway again in minutes.

Mine was so loose I would clean my prop the easy way by just removing the shaft (plug hole) and cleaning it on deck. I kept a shaft zinc just ahead of the stuffing box and it did stop it backing out whenever my set screw let go which was inconvenietly often. I don't think a clamp will hold, though.

I now have a new coupling that firmly holds everything together, so no more easy prop cleaning but I do trust reverse again.

[gfatula]

Using a zinc as a "shaft stopper" is a good idea! Thanks. I have a couple of extras and storing one there works.

The other posts suggest that this little project might require more than loosening the set screw. I am guessing mine will require some patience.

I have replaced the control cables (throttle and shift) and that was a time consuming little project. The ss machine screws that hold the pedestal together had to be drilled hollow so I could collapse them onto themselves. Replacing a mast mounted winch required the same tenacity. Slow and steady works. It is nice to have the time.

George

[msauntry]

Mine was spitting out shaft keys every hour of run time, so things were obviously out of spec on my old coupling. The new one is not going to budge without some effort.

The usual way to do it is to get some longer coupling bolts. You insert a socket or washers or something just under shaft diameter between the engine coupling and shaft coupling, then you tighten the coupling bolts back up. This will press out the shaft as you tighten it. Switch to the longer bolts once you have a socket in and keep adding washers until it presses the shaft all the way clear of the coupling.

Its an easy job until you start dropping stuff into the bilge.

[gfatula]

When I replaced the engine I did not look closely at the end of the coupling. It makes sense that it is open and your solution makes it seem like a much simpler process than beating on the other end to drive it off the shaft. I think I will loosen it up and add a little PB Blaster to the end to give it a head start from that end.

What was causing your shaft key problem? What was out of spec?

Dropping things into the bilge is not good. I prepare for my bilge crawling with an advance dose of mild pain killers and careful hydration. Gator Aid works but so does lite beer. I have found my aging body occasionally objects to my contortions by cramping a muscle or two. There is nothing like having a hamstring muscle cramp up when you are head down, inside a cockpit hatch, under the cockpit with only one free hand /arm. Ouch! I may start taking my cell phone with me so I can call for help. Or, I guess, I could hire someone else to do it but what fun would that be?

George