I have a 1983 30 ft Catalina. I get a lot of engine vibration above 1400 rpm. The prop shaft is not properly aligned with the engine. It is easy to align up and down but side to side is another story. I don't want to remove the sink cabinet to gain easy acess to the engine(did that once to remove the transmission). Any ideas on how to shift the front of the engine side to side in that confined space? Has anyone used a flex coupling between the engine (25 hp universal) and prop shaft? I thought of inserting a thin rubber piece between the engine and shaft coupling. But that seems too simple to work. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Engine vibration
- Thread starter garyskip30
- Start date
Assuming your engine mounts have slotted holes in their base, you need to loosen the bolts that hold the engine mounts to the stringers and twist the engine to get it perpendicular to the face of the shaft coupling. You also want to make sure that the shaft is centered within the shaft log.
Thank you for your response. I'm trying to come up with a way of prying the engine to move side to side in the limited space available. Has anyone successfully used a commercially available flex coupling? I thought of using a thin piece of rubber between the transmission flange and prop shaft but that idea seems too simple and probably useless.
I am able to twist my engine when the mounting bolts are loose just by grabbing it and pulling - not that hard. Don't put a flexible coupling on without aligning the engine first - there are stories of them tearing apart can causing additonal damage. With an aligned engine, there's no need for a flexible coupling.