cutlass bearning, stern tube, couplings, a big mess.

[mopieo8]

Hey everyone,
Im pulling my newport 30 mk2 out of the water next week to try and fix an engine alignment issue. I believe the cutlass bearing is badly worn and the engine is extremely misaligned. I plan on hauling the boat, pulling the shaft and shaft coupling and pulling the engine back to start things fresh.

My questions are a plenty....
Is there any way to size a cutlass bearing before I haul out? The lift is in a very isolated place and parts need to be shipped in.

The current shaft coupling is a flexible press on monster of a beast. I cant seem to find anything that resembles this at online marine stores. I can only find rigid couplings and drive savers that go between the transmission flange and the rigid coupling. Am I missing something? Is it still possible to find an all in one flexible shaft coupling?

The current coupling is 40 years old and is too badly rusted to make a proper engine alignment practical. Its connected to a universal 5416 with a hurth z50 2:1 transmission. Hopefully I can pull it without destroying the shaft, or should I just plan on putting a new shaft in from the start? What would a new ss shaft cost?

I also plan on installing a pss shaft seal belows kit since the original bellows is no longer up to the task. For this I need to know the stern tube diameter. Is there any way to find out what the stern tube diameter is before I pull the boat? The shaft is 7/8ths stainless.

My 16hp universal sits on only 3 mounts. The aft mount (forward? closest to the bow?), is turned 90 degrees to the two side mounts. This makes adjusting the engine impossible once the bolts are in. Is this normal? This seems to make zero sense to me. All lateral adjusment of the mounts is restricted by this sideways mounted mount.!?!?!?! Currently the thwart-ship engine stringer is too narrow to turn the mount 90degress in line with the others. I have the materials to glass in a block of hardwood which would make it possible to turn the mount 90 degrees. Is this advisable?

I will try and post pictures tonight.

Any info, links, tips or suggestions would be great as I start this challenging process.

 

[Charles Erwin]

I do not understand how rust on the coupler would prevent motor/shaft alignment. If your set up has a strut it is possible to replace the cutlass leaving the shaft in place using a Strut Pro press. Maybe you can leave the shaft in place if it is in good shape otherwise.

If not - when you remove the old shaft/coupler - separating the two destroys the fit-up clearance. The clearance cannot be restored using the present parts. Thus it does not matter if you separate them or simply cut the shaft with wheel and remove the two separately.

A machine shop is required to fabricate a new shaft. Choose one experienced in marine propulsion. The shop does the following: verify the new shaft/coupler overall length is correct, that the new shaft is dead straight, the keyways and keystock are cut and fitup, that the coupler is fit to the shaft, that the propeller is lapp-fit to the shaft taper.

As to the shaft packing you might consider a standard stuff box using Duramax or Gore packing. PSS type seals are acceptable of course - provided they are installed and maintained carefully.

Since you are removing replacing the shaft, coupler, and packing assembly there are no tricks to remove replace the cutlass. Locate remove the set screws and press it out.

It is not possible to comment on motor mounts and alignment strategy because the description is not completely clear. One assumes other Newport owners must have faced the same problem and some consultation with them might prove helpful on alignment strategy as well as to provide leads to a competent machine shop.

Charles

ps The shop will give you the torque values for the coupler pinch bolt(s) depending on the coupler style as well as the propeller shaft nuts.

 

[mopieo8]

I do not understand how rust on the coupler would prevent motor/shaft alignment. If your set up has a strut it is possible to replace the cutlass leaving the shaft in place using a Strut Pro press. Maybe you can leave the shaft in place if it is in good shape otherwise.

The coupling is rusted badly making an uneven surface. This makes checking clearances with feeler gauges impossible. Ive tried cleaning up the surfaces with sandpaper but I am doubtful that the plane is even.

If not - when you remove the old shaft/coupler - separating the two destroys the fit-up clearance. The clearance cannot be restored using the present parts. Thus it does not matter if you separate them or simply cut the shaft with wheel and remove the two separately.

A machine shop is required to fabricate a new shaft. Choose one experienced in marine propulsion. The shop does the following: verify the new shaft/coupler overall length is correct, that the new shaft is dead straight, the keyways and keystock are cut and fitup, that the coupler is fit to the shaft, that the propeller is lapp-fit to the shaft taper.

There is no machine shop here. I am in a very remote location.



"Since you are removing replacing the shaft, coupler, and packing assembly there are no tricks to remove replace the cutlass. Locate remove the set screws and press it out.

It is not possible to comment on motor mounts and alignment strategy because the description is not completely clear. One assumes other Newport owners must have faced the same problem and some consultation with them might prove helpful on alignment strategy as well as to provide leads to a competent machine shop.

Charles

ps The shop will give you the torque values for the coupler pinch bolt(s) depending on the coupler style as well as the propeller shaft nuts."




Some clarification: I have 3 mounts. two of them can be adjusted athwart-ships, the other which is mounted 90degrees in relation to the other mounts can only be adjusted for and aft. This means that the two side mounts prevent the aft mount from moving, and the aft mount prevents the two side mounts from moving. If I rotate the aft mount 90 degress I can then adjust the engine athwart-ships. Of course I can still adjust the engine vertically with the threaded bolts.


There is no machine shop here. I am in a remote location and am looking for solutions given my situation.

Can anyone answer any of my questions?

 

[Charles Erwin]

Rust on the coupler (by itself) will not present an obstacle to acceptable shaft/transmission alignment.

If you choose to disassemble the shaft, cutlass, stuff box components and replace - as you suggest you want to do - then you will need to transport the present parts (removed) from where you are to a machine shop so the parts can be duplicated thus fit exactly when you re-install.

Otherwise you will have to stick with what you have and make do until you are someplace nearer reliable assistance. What you propose to achieve is simply not possible if you have no access to the necessary machine tools.

Charles

 

[kenn]

How bad is the misalignment? Can you go half-speed without it sounding like a berserk clock?

Once you start pulling stuff, you may well need a machine shop close by for runout tests, to machine a new face on a coupling, to clean up the taper on the shaft, etc. Is it not possible to sail the boat to a better-equipped port?

 

[mopieo8]

Rather than a stuffing box with packing I have a PSS dripless shaft seal which I plan on upgrading with a rebuild kit. I like the idea of not having a drip of saltwater into the engine bildge where it swishes around the oil pan. Westerberk wants $800 for a new pan and its a real pain to dry out the bildge.

I would prefer to do the haul out elsewhere but the area Im in makes for tough and dangerous sailing without an engine. Imagine 6 knot currents and fog so thick you cant see the jib. I know its been done before but I dont have that much confidence yet.

I have tried to align the engine already and the uneven surfaces on the coupling make using feeler gauges inaccurate. I removed the set screws on the coupling today and filled the holes with penetrating oil. They are aligned 180 degrees from eachother and seem to screw all the way into a recess in the shaft. There is no keyway from what I can see.

I would prefer to not pull the prop if everything looks good.

The vibrations seems to smoothen out at higher rpms. I took a temperature reading of the stern tube at cruising speed of 28c. Surrounding water is 8c. There is some serious friction and the engine struggles to keep up against it.


My main reasons for pulling the shaft are to put in a new cutlass bearing and to get an accurate location of the center of the shaft so I can align the engine. As well as install the PSS rebuild kit. If its possible to pull the cutlass bearing with shaft in place then is there another way to find the center of the shaft for the engine alignment?
My plan was to pull engine back
Run a string through cutlass and stern tube in the center
Align a mock up jig of the engine with the string
Fix mounts according to jig
Install engine.

Is there another way to do this?

Questions remaining.
Is it at all possible to look up the dimensions of the cutlass bearing before I haul out so I can have the part ready?

Here are some pictures of the mounts, coupling and stern tube.

What you cant really see from the photos is that the mounts have a notch where the lag bolts go through allowing you to adjust them in one plane only. Having the aft mount turned sideways limits any adjustment of any of the mounts. This does not make sense to me.

Does anyone recognize this flexible coupling?

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Thanks for everyone's input. I'm looking forward to posting before and afters...

 

[Charles Erwin]

Your mounts do not adjust where they are lagged to the stringers . They adjust in the vertical. Likely you will find the mount brackets (the brackets bolted to the motor block and through which the mount posts pass) have holes slightly elongated to permit slight sideways adjustment.

However, considering your boat has a long history why have you decided the the motor has become offset from the shaft centerline?

Remember - it is impossible to align shaft to motor with a worn out cutlass bearing.

Charles

 

[mopieo8]

The mounts are new.
They adjust vertically with the bolt as well as horizontally with a notch in the mounts. There is no elongated notch in any of the three holes on the engine itself.
The info I've provided is not speculation unless otherwise stated.

The reason the engine is out of line is because new mounts were installed into fresh wood with a worn cutlass bearing. Many things were unknown when this was done. No lift/grid/pier was available to inspect below the water at that time. This was a big first timer mistake due to some very pour advice from a trained shipwright, limited funds/tools/equipment/skilled mechanicsd, and a desire to learn by doing. Basically I didnt know the cutlass was bad until I tried to align it. We thought going through the old holes would be close enough, after which we would adjust with the mounts.

Time to start fresh. Limited resources are making things difficult.

 

[Boffin]

you may find useful information in here

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Alignment2.htm