Shaft pulling v. crank yanking??

[DCatSea]

From another thread ref Fresh Water Tank Replacement:

via Coolchange
Question: Have you ever had your shaft pulled? Is-this like having your crank yanked?

Well, if you put it that way.....

but I'm really referring to the act of disconnecting the propulsion shaft from the drive/shaft-saver, pulling it out of the boat for balancing and checking for loss of "true", replacing the cut-less bearing and then putting it all back together. Apparently it's one of those tasks which is best done before the disaster happens, and then, I am reliably informed, done professionally.

I'm tempted to have it done during this winters lay-up, but would appreciate any inputs from other A25/27 owners as to its efficacy.

[motthediesel]

Doug,

I pulled the shaft out of our A27 last year, and it wasn't that bad of a job. There are three hurdles to clear in order to do the job.

Dropping the rudder: Turned out not difficult at all in my case, but make sure the boat is blocked up high enough for the rudder shaft to pass out of it's bearing.

Pulling the shaft coupling: This again was "less horrible" than I imagined, mostly due to the compact, simple, and effective puller I had.

Pulling out the shaft: Here, I anticipated no great difficulty, and was (naturally) ambushed with all kinds of problems. I my case it turned out that the shaft had accumulated a hard, crusty coating inside the stern tube. This build-up just would not pass through the cutless bearing. I eventually fitted a PVC pipe over the shaft to allow the propeller threads to be used to pull it out. This destroyed the cutless bearing by pulling the rubber guts right out of it, but it did free the shaft. It need a new bearing anyway....

Then -- have the shaft checked for true, and tuned as necessary, with a good polishing too. Next, have a look at the packing in the stern gland - replace if necessary, and fit a new cutless. After all is back in place, check your alignment, and your driveline should be good to go for more years of smooth service.

Tom

[Dieselram94]

Doug,

I pulled the shaft out of our A27 last year, and it wasn't that bad of a job. There are three hurdles to clear in order to do the job.

Dropping the rudder: Turned out not difficult at all in my case, but make sure the boat is blocked up high enough for the rudder shaft to pass out of it's bearing.

Pulling the shaft coupling: This again was "less horrible" than I imagined, mostly due to the compact, simple, and effective puller I had.

Pulling out the shaft: Here, I anticipated no great difficulty, and was (naturally) ambushed with all kinds of problems. I my case it turned out that the shaft had accumulated a hard, crusty coating inside the stern tube. This build-up just would not pass through the cutless bearing. I eventually fitted a PVC pipe over the shaft to allow the propeller threads to be used to pull it out. This destroyed the cutless bearing by pulling the rubber guts right out of it, but it did free the shaft. It need a new bearing anyway....

Then -- have the shaft checked for true, and tuned as necessary, with a good polishing too. Next, have a look at the packing in the stern gland - replace if necessary, and fit a new cutless. After all is back in place, check your alignment, and your driveline should be good to go for more years of smooth service.

Tom

Tom, what kind of buildup was on the shaft? Was it white and kinda like a calcium deposit?

[TorreyWP]

Excellent write up Tom!

I would add, with the shaft removed it is a great time to consider "upgrading" a dripless shaft seal like PSS or Strong Seal if you still have a conventional adjustable packing type gland. A couple extra $$$ but I have found that because that type of shaft seal is injected with cooling water, the "buildup" that Tom mentioned is greatly reduced, not to mention a dry bilge!

Some members have mentioned that their 27's have an "intermediate" shaft bearing thats mounted in a bulkhead about half way down the length of the shaft. If your boat has this, it could complicate things as the bearing could be seized on the shaft...

[motthediesel]

On our boat, the crusty accumulation on the shaft may well have been calcium (I didn't test it with acid) but it came off easily with a brass scraper.

Also, not to open a can of worms over the conventional/dripless shaft seal debate, but either way it would have little effect on what kind of crud will accumulate on the shaft inside the stern tube. As the cutless bearing is not a seal, the stern tube will always be full of 'seawater" (salty, brackish, or fresh) and therefor subject to whatever chemical mischief is afoot.

[LopezMike]

I have run into that problem of solid buildup on a shaft in a stern tube before. I solved it by sliding the packing gland as far forward as I could, making sort of a funnel out of plastic, hose clamping it to the stern tube and pouring Hydrochloric acid through the tube.

I know. Wild man at work. But I checked for material compatibility and provided a drain pan under the outside end of the tube. Also had a hose ready with water to take care of any acid spills. I wore hand and eye protection. The usual deposits are very rapidly dissolved with this acid. The process does give off chlorine gas so a nice powerful fan is absolutely needed inside the boat.

It did, however, really clean the shaft and the insides of the tube. One look at the contents of the drain pan told the tale.

[hetek]

I did not have enough room to drop the rudder once so I dug a hole beneath it. Plenty of room now. Always an option.

Also I had my boat backed up to a fence when I pulled the shaft. I figured if it didn't come free before contacting the fence then a nice very conveniently located 1-1/2" "knot hole" would be appropriate.

Not needed, but again, options.

[DCatSea]

Excellent responses; thanks to all who shared. Im still going to "get it done" by pros, but now know what to watch for. I'm lucky enough to have access to much-recommended diesel/boat mechanic who moonlights from a highly-thought of boatworks in Annapolis, with labor costs that make it almost impossible to do it myself.
I'm going to be busy changing the fresh water tank and finally sorting out the bad-rain leak in the aft cabin (headliner down and all that stuff) and all the stuff that shows up when you least expect it during lay-up.

[motthediesel]

I have run into that problem of solid buildup on a shaft in a stern tube before. I solved it by sliding the packing gland as far forward as I could, making sort of a funnel out of plastic, hose clamping it to the stern tube and pouring Hydrochloric acid through the tube.

Brilliant! That was a great idea -- sorry I didn't think of it.

[Dieselram94]

I’m glad to hear others have found buildup inside the stern tube as well. Mine wasn’t packed full but I was stressing about what the build up was.