Aligning strut - H34

[Tom Mercer]

I removed the strut on my H34 to replace the shaft. There is a recess in the hull, and the strut bolts up with 4 bolts. When I removed it, some of the gelcoat came off with it. I smoothed out the area with new gelcoat before bolting the strut back up (sealing it with 3M 5200). When I put the shaft back through the new cutless, it is laying ever so slightly more to the bottom left side of the cutless bearing. It turns easily, and I am sure that the strut isn't bent. Is this ok, or do I need to remove the strut and attempt to align it closer. If so, how do I go about attaining a true alignment of the strut so that the shaft if equally centered in the bearing. How much tolerance do I have? Thanks

 

[Allan Hadad]

Strut Alignment

Hello Tom,Check the archives under my name. I wrote an article when we replaced our cutlass bearing and installed a new dripless seal. We had the same issue you do with the misaligned strut. Hope the information in that article helps.Allan

 

[Kevin l. Woody]

I would adjust the mounts. ?

Hello Tom,Have you looked at the alignment at the coupling? My concern would be if the new position of the strut creates a problem of alignment at the coupling end. I would think that if the shaft bearing is in column and only the height and port starboard alignment is out on the strut, then the motor mount alignment should be enough to take care of the problem. This is however depending on the overall side to side and height error. To far to one side and the shaft may come in contact with your stern tube wall. Knowing the hassle of installing, removing and again installing a strut I would look to fix the problem elsewhere. Good luck. Hope this helps some. Kevin