Hello,
A new issue for me. A job that looked easy on youtube is turning out to be very difficult.
During a survey, I was told that my cutless bearing should be replaced as there was some movement in my shaft. After having the boat hauled out, I verified the movement. After some research, I decided to buy a StruPro tool to tackle this job, but it's not working out for me.
I was conscious in installing the tool, its position, and ensuring I was supplying equal tension as I attempted to push the current cutless bearing out, but it appears much more difficult than it should be.
I expected to use just a 1/2 ratchet, but after much resistance and little movement, I remove the tool to inspect progress. I then reattempted the operation and after 1/2 hour was only able to express about 1/8" of the bearing from the strut. After 1 1/2 hours I quit and called it a day.
I went back today and tried again using a 4' pipe as a leaver, and discovered that now it's out about an inch, but it is again very difficult. I again decided to stop, remove, and inspect. I then noticed that one of the collets is a little deformed.
I feel I am doing something very wrong. Now I can't rotate the shaft and the collets appear to be wedged into the strut. I expected the collets would be loose enough that I could pull or wiggle them out if necessary; they have holes drilled into them for that purpose. I was thinking about applying some heat to see if that might help move it along better. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
A new issue for me. A job that looked easy on youtube is turning out to be very difficult.
During a survey, I was told that my cutless bearing should be replaced as there was some movement in my shaft. After having the boat hauled out, I verified the movement. After some research, I decided to buy a StruPro tool to tackle this job, but it's not working out for me.
I was conscious in installing the tool, its position, and ensuring I was supplying equal tension as I attempted to push the current cutless bearing out, but it appears much more difficult than it should be.
I expected to use just a 1/2 ratchet, but after much resistance and little movement, I remove the tool to inspect progress. I then reattempted the operation and after 1/2 hour was only able to express about 1/8" of the bearing from the strut. After 1 1/2 hours I quit and called it a day.
I went back today and tried again using a 4' pipe as a leaver, and discovered that now it's out about an inch, but it is again very difficult. I again decided to stop, remove, and inspect. I then noticed that one of the collets is a little deformed.
I feel I am doing something very wrong. Now I can't rotate the shaft and the collets appear to be wedged into the strut. I expected the collets would be loose enough that I could pull or wiggle them out if necessary; they have holes drilled into them for that purpose. I was thinking about applying some heat to see if that might help move it along better. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,