Hunter 31 Strut Bearing

[Jim]

I am preparing to pull my boat out of the water to perform some maintenance, one of the things i plan to do is replace the strut bearing. I can't find anywhere where the size is recorded. I know the shaft is a 1" shaft but what is the outside diameter of the bearing. The boat is a 1985 Hunter 31. Also any tips you have about replacing the bearing would be nice. Which way does the shaft need to be pulled into the boat or out, if out doesn't the rudder get in the way? I have already built a contraption to pull the bearing with a piece of all thread, just not sure how to get the shaft out.Jim

 

[Royce]

Not necessary to pull prop shaft

to replace the cutlass bearing. You can do it by pulling the prop, then with a split driver that fits around the prop shaft, drive out the old cutlass bearing. There should be a couple allen head set screws it the strut to lock the bearing in place. Loosen those first. The people at the yard should have the tools to do this.Good luckRoyce