I removed the old shaft coupler (see thread: shaft coupler is a rusty lump) and installed a whole new stuffing box, cutlass bearing and Moyer split coupler and everything seems good, shaft spins fine by hand... but today I ran the motor and put the tranny into gear and got a pretty large amount of vibration and the motor was moving more than I ever remember seeing. Now I am still on the hard as I was when the whole job startted, and thing did seem to smooth out somewhat but it is still more vibration than I ever remember seeing. However, I rarely if ever out the motor in gear when running it on land, so I don't have much to compare to in memory. I have been reading some old threads on alignment and it seems that perhaps things will be different when the boat is back on the water. Could the motor have gotten out of alignment just by removing and replacing the shaft? Is the problem likely to go away after launching due to the bottom changing shape (no longer resting on the keel, like it is now). This is a Ranger 29 with very bad access to things like shafts and motor mounts. Also I know nothing about doing a shaft alignment, is this even possible in the water if it becomes necessary? How much vibration is too much, how do you measure these things . Lots of questions. in water and in gear, things were pretty smooth in the past. I am really unsure of what to do with this problem. If i decide to play with the motor mounts, how do I event figure what directions to move the motor? I have seen reference to .003 as a tolerance but how is this measured? Is this in a book anywhere such as Don Casey's this old boat? (I haven't bought that yet, but am willing). Any opinions out there? Reassurances? Warnings?
A little history on the shaft reinstall - When I first tried to install the shaft I had clamped the stuffing box onto the shaft log and put the coupler onto the end of the shaft, then pushed the shaft forward, the holes between output and shaft couplers did not line up well. So I removed the stuffing box and let it float free, and removed the shaft coupler from the shaft and bolted it onto the mother. I then slid the shaft forward. It did not go in easily, truth be told I pounded on the propeller hub with a rubber mallet to get it all the way into the coupler. At that poitn it seemed to be aligned and to spin by hand freely and without discernable wobble. But under power not so much, though it fdoes seem to smooth out as the revs are increased and also seems smoother after a couple of rounds of trying the motor in gear.
Thanks for listening.
A little history on the shaft reinstall - When I first tried to install the shaft I had clamped the stuffing box onto the shaft log and put the coupler onto the end of the shaft, then pushed the shaft forward, the holes between output and shaft couplers did not line up well. So I removed the stuffing box and let it float free, and removed the shaft coupler from the shaft and bolted it onto the mother. I then slid the shaft forward. It did not go in easily, truth be told I pounded on the propeller hub with a rubber mallet to get it all the way into the coupler. At that poitn it seemed to be aligned and to spin by hand freely and without discernable wobble. But under power not so much, though it fdoes seem to smooth out as the revs are increased and also seems smoother after a couple of rounds of trying the motor in gear.
Thanks for listening.
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