Changing out the cutlass bearing on 2008 24Ve

[Paul Middlemore]

Need some advice on an issue.

Hit a deadhead while surfing yesterday; vibration was present, Idled back to the dock. This morning (daylight) found my issues.

Prop was slightly wacked and wobbled on the shaft. Keyway was damaged and the guys at Precision Propeller (Spokane Wa.) were great at repairing the prop as I waited; just aligned.

I did notice that the cutlass bearing is definitely worn, as there are gaps on side (both ends).

And there is daylight where the "rope sleve" is supposed to be.

So I read as many threads as I could (Worsty's from 2013 was great - but I called the shop and he claimed Tige changed forgers for the strut after 2004 so he didn't have the right cutlass bearing. I was told that it is easier to remove the strut than the prop shaft but checking the measurements from the end of the shaft to the rudder, the numbers don't add up.

I would call the local Tige dealer for the part (oh right I don't have a local Tige dealer) but since I called six different dealers in three states and only got one to respond to a replacement pop up cleat, I hesitate to go down that road again.

Where does one get the correct cutlass bearing(s) and does anyone have any tips (pics) on removing the shaft and or strut?

Thanks,
Paul

[Paul Middlemore]

Moving along with the project.

Skidim does have the correct cutlass bearing but they don't show it on their website. A quick call resolved the issue as I opted for the standard style with an 1 3/8 OD and 1 1/8 ID. Overnight shipping came to 120.00 but unless I get em quick, my Southern Calif. road trip is in jeopardy.

Purchased the slide hammer and plan on welding the same size prop nut on one of the slide hammer adapters (got that tip from the forum). Only fear I have is aligning the engine/transmission, hopefully I get lucky and everything is still factory aligned................yeah right.

When son #2 gets home we will drop the rudder, and pull the shaft. Great youtube video on replacing the cutlass bearings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsqOac-52Rs

[Paul Middlemore]

Still moving.

Followed the advice of others and dropped the rudder, (slightly bent though - anyone confirm that putting a bit on the shaft and applying some force would straighten it out?)

And then pulled the shaft using the welded on nut to a slide puller - works great.

Overall took us an hour to pull it down, now tomorrow will cut out and remove the cutlass bearings and patiently await the new ones. I guess after we install the bearings and shaft we will check the alignment - really looking forward to that.

[mnpracing]

Thanks for documenting this for all of us. Great info!

[Paul Middlemore]

Still moving along:
Cutting out those cutlass bearings is harder than the video depicted.................have patience. Got em out and tomorrow the new ones arrive.

[jslayde1]

Do you have any pictures that you could post? I would be interested in seeing the process if you do...

[Paul Middlemore]

Funny on pictures, we keep trying to shoot em, but something grabs our attention and we keep moving along. We did take a few and I will post them as soon as we are done.

From research on the forum, I am not going to try to heat up the rudder and straighten it out - sounds like a bad recipe - heat, bronze and stainless steel. We will live with the slight bend and after I hit the next deadhead, replace the rudder.

[boatwakes]

Okay, for everyone reading, you don't have to drop the rudder, just remove the prop to ge tthe shaft out. If the strut got bent, just unbolt and remove. If you're just replacing the cutlass bearings, remove the set screws and pound out with a large socket or cut using the you tube method, no easy way out. Put the new ones in the freezer overnight and heat the strut with a PROPANE torch just above 140 degrees, then immediately install the frozen bearings. I've written a very detailed post on alignment. If you need help, pm me and I'll give you my number but you should be able to find all the info you need.

[IDBoating]

When a local shop replaced my transmission under warranty on my 24Ve, they had to drop the rudder to remove the propshaft. Or better stated, they couldn't back off the propshaft enough to replace the transmission without dropping the rudder to gain clearance. The shop said that some brands (Nautique?) offset the rudder from the propshaft enough that it's possible to leave the rudder in place, but (at least my) Tige has them directly in line.

I just swapped out a damaged prop on a friend's brand new Centurion and carefully examined this situation under his boat. It sure looks to me like the rudder would have to come off if you wanted to pull the propshaft aft more than several inches.

Are you saying there's a way to remove the shaft without dropping the rudder on a boat that has them in line? If so, I'd love to hear about it... the day will come when I need to do something propshaft related. You always seem to have some handy tricks up your sleeve - please share!

[Paul Middlemore]

Hey great info. Please let me clarify a few points.
You have your choice of either dropping the rudder or strut if you have the need to replace the cutlass bearings. I opted for the rudder based on a few discoveries. The rudder was slightly bent and the mounting bolts were slightly loose. Upon closer inspection the rudder base plate (on the upper part) was also tweaked. Also that youtube video showed the guy doing it with the strut in place.

Since we knew the alignment was off the prop shaft was going to get disconnected. Based on that one could disconnect the prop shaft from the drive and then unbolt the strut. This would give you enough wiggle room to slide the strut off the shaft. By angling the shaft to either side, you could slide the strut off the prop shaft as this year have both inline. Careful though, you now have the prop shaft handing there without any support. Ours has the dripless seal on the shaft which takes a few allen head screws to free up the shaft so it can only move so far without coming out. You would have to support that shaft.

Since we started down the road by uncoupling the prop shaft from the drive and were electing to remove the prop shaft, we needed that strut in place to use that slide hammer to dislodge the prop shaft from the coupler.

It would be easier and smarter to remove the strut in order to properly press out and in those cutlass bearings, that is if that is the only thing you are replacing.

After re-installing the cutlass bearings, we installed the prop shaft and found our next problem. It was obvious the strut was out of line with the shaft log (basically the hole that goes through the bottom of the boat). It was off to the right by one inch. Upon closer inspection of the strut mounting bolts, one could see that they had been removed at one time by someone with the improper cross blade driver. Damaged could be seen by the cross hatch being rounded over. Since this boat has always had a slight vibration (more than our other Tiges) I assume that a previous owner incurred some damage and someone did some less than professional work.

So we had to remove the strut, reseal the mounting plate and slowly dial it in to the shaft log. Lined up perfectly, just a little low but still within clearances of the shaft log. Most likely the shaft weighs a bit more on that end (gravity and all).

We then aligned the engine to the prop shaft; really off and big pain in the tail getting to all the bolts. Of course side panels have to come off, more areas to remove and re-install.

Got the rudder back in and everything set for today's finish. Later a test run in the river to ensure everything works. Kinda quit working on it yesterday, weddings and the boys schedule conflicted with working on the boat.

Lastly, I ordered the wrong cutlass bearings and when they showed up Friday, I knew I was in trouble. I was off an 1/8 inch on the OD. My bad not the online company. I called around and Chuck at Sundance Marine, Spokane, WA. had them in stock. Drove out there and Chuck was great. Not only did he ask me questions as to the damage and my repairs (ensuring I was going down the right path) he took the time to walk me through the engine alignment procedures; even used an existing boat he was working on. Great people and will get my future business.

[boatwakes]

WA, with the prop removed the shaft should pass the rudder when the rudder is straight. We've come across a few lake boats with weird alignment issues from bent struts or rudders where those had to be dropped for repair anyway. Any properly built boat with a shaft will pass the rudder with the rudder installed even if sometimes it looks unlikely. When the shaft is removed from the coupler, you gain a small amount of angle side to side from the sterntube and this will help in removal.

We did a gas to diesel re power on a 37' sea ray express where the strut bases had to have custom mounting pads glassed into the hull because of alignment issues with the new engines. As long as the strut is tight to the hull either through spacers or backing plates, the net result will be the same. But damn, if it was off by that much somebody had a fun time at the lake and passed the buck on to you.

[mnpracing]

I've written a very detailed post on alignment.

I did a quick search and couldn't find this. Please post a link if you can.

[IDBoating]

WA, with the prop removed the shaft should pass the rudder when the rudder is straight. We've come across a few lake boats with weird alignment issues from bent struts or rudders where those had to be dropped for repair anyway. Any properly built boat with a shaft will pass the rudder with the rudder installed even if sometimes it looks unlikely. When the shaft is removed from the coupler, you gain a small amount of angle side to side from the sterntube and this will help in removal.

Very interesting. Hadn't thought about gaining freedom of movement once the shaft was removed from the v-drive, I agree that might do it.

I'm not sure how to explain my warranty transmission replacement. Here's what happened: My transmission needed replacement, PCM approved that and the local then-former Tige dealer to do the work and shipped the new transmission to the dealer. An important point here is that the dealer had until just a couple of months before been the local Tige dealer, so they were familiar with Tiges AND Tige Corporate was familiar with them. When I picked up my boat, the service tech and the manager and I had a friendly chat for a while and they mentioned that they had to call Tige and get approval for extra work hours to remove and reinstall the rudder so the propshaft could be backed out enough. PCM would pay for the transmission replacement, but not for the boat-specific extra labor, so they called Tige and Tige stepped up and covered it.

Seems to me that somewhere in that scenario someone would have realized it wasn't necessary to remove the rudder, if it were possible to avoid it. The dealer certainly should have been familiar with Tige boats. Maybe PCM doesn't know the specifics, but I'd sure think Tige would have given them a hint instead of forking over cash to have them perform unnecessary labor.

This is now a mystery I'd love to have solved!

[boatwakes]

Interesting. I'll check black widow and stingreys and mr German's 24ve's to see if there's a rudder issue. It's entirely possible the layup on those boats is different (and for this I want to spank the design engineers if it's true, insert expletive) and not entirely out of the question. It really is crap like that which drives me crazy and causes such headaches for the people who work on them.

Stand by for alignment post.

[boatwakes]

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...haft+alignment

Thank goodness I've been drinking tonight...