Alignment / Cutless bearing issue nd. advice

[BobM]

I have a new to me 1981 S2 9.2A on the hard down in CT. During survey, it was noted that in neutral with the cutless bearing lubricated with water, the shaft was hard to turn. The surveyor has extensive sailboat experience, which is why I hired him.Looking at the back of the cutless bearing it is obvious that the shaft is out of alignment down and to the left depressing the cutless bearing at about 7 o'clock. The opposite, of course, is true at the front where it is compressing the bearing at about 2 o'clock.Another survey issue was loose engine bed tabbing, which has since been repaired. I have hired a diesel mechanic to look at the alignment issue, but to be frank, they don't seem very experienced with anything aft of the transmission.From online research, the vertical alignment can be adjusted by raising and lowering the adjustable mounts on the yanmar 2QM15. However, the left to right adjustment seems to be accomplished by loosening the bolts holding the mounts to the beds and then nudging the engine somehow with a lever. Is this an accurate account of what is entailed to accomplish the adjustments? I was going to leave it to a mechanic as I understand that the fit between the coupling halves has to be 0.001 inches per inch of coupling surface. However, if I can't get a mechanic out by this weekend I think I will give it a shot. Thoughts and advice are appreciated. Shifting the engine to port will be a blast as the galley cabinets are on that side of the engine.Also, regarding the cutless bearing. It does not seem to be worn, but it is under such a crosswise load it may be tough to judge. The surveyor seemed to indicate it could wait a season, but it certainly seems that the better part of valor would be to replace it or it will cause vibration even after the alignment. I have a friend who has one of those remove the bearing while its on the shaft devices for his Catalina 30, which he has had mixed luck with (he said next time he would just pay the 300 to have it done). I thought I might try that. The yard it is in is in disarray and isn't even capable of returning a phone call, never mind working on a boat. The other option is, of course, to pull the shaft. However, the coupling is so totally rusted that I can't imagine that being possible, even if I could reach it comfortably, which I certainly can't on this boat being a 6 foot 230lb type. A friend suggested just biting the bullet and replacing the shaft, coupling and cutless bearing, but I feel like I will be digging such a hole for myself I will never hit the water. Plus the boat is in an unfriendly yard two hours from home and I can only spare about six hours a weekend plus travel to work on it. The complicating factor is I need the boat to make a three day journey back to Boston from Long Island Sound including a passage through the Cape Cod Canal. One thought is to do the alignment work, splash it, see how bad the vibration is (if one can even tell from the normal vibrations people tell me to expect from this engine)and, worst case, move her to a nearby sailboat friendly yard for repairs.In any case, I plan to clean up the coupling as best I can and try this new cryogenic penetrating spray I picked up to see If I can loosen the shaft after all.Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide all the background I could to facilitate thoughtful responses.Thanks in advance for the wisdom.BobM

 

[BobM]

Another thought,...

...is that many say that it is tough to judge an alignment problem on the hard as the hull isn't at rest. I can see where that is a major problem on some of the paper thin boats I looked at, but this S2 is pretty solid. What do you all think?By the way. The shaft on this boat is pretty darn short, maybe four feet max, and only penetrates the hull by about a foot. So there is darn little shaft inside that isn't covered by the stuffing box or coupling.Thanks again. This side is heaven sent when it comes to facing issues like this and needing advice.Bob

 

[BarryL]

alignment on the hard

Hi Bob,As you wrote, you can't really check alignment with the boat out of the water. If it were my boat, I would splash it, wait a day, then check how hard it is to rotate the shaft. I bet that it will be good enough to get you home. There is no way I would start messing around with the boat on the hard. You are more likely to make it worse than better.Good luck,Barry

 

[Alex]

Alignment

I would do rough alignment on the hard first. Make sure I can un-couple the flange from the engine, free the nuts bolts, engine mounts etc. Do a visual check to make sure the shaft is roughly centered in the hole on the hull. It is very hard to do those in the water. At least you can turn the shaft by hand easily. Shifting the engine sideway is not that hard. You can use a wood working C-clamp or other device to help.Once you get a good benchmark alignment, splash the boat, fill with provisions and wait a few days. Do the alignment again.Alignment is the easy part. Removing rusted bolts are the major problems.

 

[John T1594]

Adjust the strut

I had a similar problem on a former 1980 Hunter 30 with a 2QM15. After some work on the engine mounts, the shaft was very hard to turn by hand. The mechanic had a lot of problem with the engine alignment and somehow threw the shaft out of line in the cutlass bearing. The final solution was to loosen and realign the prop strut. The strut can be loosened and shimmed from the outside to effect the alignment then bolted back down. Once the boat is back in the water for a few days, the engine alignment can be fine tuned.

 

[DanT]

Alignment Issues

I just completed this job with a very experienced "boat buddy". With the cost to put the boat on the hard, it is always best to fix obvious problems while you have the boat up there. With the wear you describe at 2 & 7 another consideration, is that the strut that hold the Cutlass bearing was knocked out of alignment. The hard stainless probably won't show visibly that it was dinged, but there should be NO movement of this strut and it should it now be at the wrong angle, it could be the cause of the binding of the cutlass bearing. If it is this, no amount of alignment "north" of the stuffing box will help. That being said, if you have to align the engine to the shaft, it is worth borrowing/renting or purchasing at Harbor Freight for about $70.00 (your friends will love you) the hydraulic kit that comes with various attachements, among them a little "Duckbill" that will fit into small places. (most yards have these kits). With various options, you will have tremendous and precise lifting power, and your 230 lb frame will make little difference. After loosening the motor mounts, you can move the engine around quite precisely with the aid of this little kit, and align the coupling to the engine. I don't think you can properly align the engine with the coupling attached, at least I don't know how to do it. Lastly removal of the Cutlass bearing with the shaft in place can be done with a special tool, (half circles that clamp around the shaft that "push" it out), in fact my friend had one made with clamshells and two threaded rods etc. Make sure they "press" it out not bang it out as I have seen done in several yards. I didn't have to do this as I elected to replace the shaft and Cutlass bearing because the shaft on mine was worn at the spot whre it intefaced with the cCutlass bearing. Once it is worn at the Cutlass bearing interface, it just chews up new bearings anyway. Good luck- and you are right with any two banger engine you are going to know the engine is running.

 

[sailaway78]

Shaft alignment

The S2's, or at least the 8.5's have a bolt on strut, which fits into a slight depression in the hull. From your description, I would suspect that the strut has been moved a little, maybe from an impact, or some rope picked up in the prop. This happened to my 8.5, and actually pulled one of the strut mounting bolts through the glass. I would certainly make very sure the alignment is very close before you splash the boat. If you need to move the strut, it would be pretty tough with the boat in the water.

 

[r.w.landau]

It sounds like the engine mounts are off. That changes the shaft alignment with

Iwould unbolt the flange to flange connection and see how they face up with no restraint. If they do not face up, adjust the mounts to get close. Then install the bolts and bring the faces together close enough you can slip a .030 feeler guage between the faces. Then check all around the flanges and make final adjustments to the motor mounts. This should correct the cutlass problem unless the strut has been damaged.good luck,r.w.landau

 

[Landsend]

I think that your strut is bent.

and your engine and shaft is straight. This can be straightened. To be certain you almost have to pull the shaft.

 

[r.w.landau]

Bob, the the motor mount structure was bad. You had someone repair it. It needs

I would try aligning it first. If the strut or shaft is bent, you will know that after you align it. The issue you mentioned about removing the flange from the shaft comes into play should the worst happen. I believe that when the repair was being done, the motor had to be move to make that happen.They just didn't put it back where it belongs! It is worth the effort before spending the money on parts you may not need. The first time is the hardest. Once you do this, if you have to do it again it will be alot easier.You are the one that can see it and it is your call.again, good luck!r.w.landau