prop and shaft pulling

Witzend · Oct 16, 2010

Don't bang on it with a hammer with the coupling attached to the transmission, you may damage it. Go to a prop shop and beg, borrow, or steal, a puller. Then put some heat on it.

Hermit Scott · Oct 16, 2010

It is likely that your prop shaft is wasted. The easiest way to do it is to use a 4-1/2" grinder with a thin cutting disc to cut the shaft near the coupler so you can remove all of that. The coupler is wasted also. The prop may be able to be saved so long as it is not damaged or it doesn't have pink spots on it (the zinc is leached out).
I tried everything to separate the coupler from the shaft that was stuck on it. I took it to my shop and tried to press it out in a press. It actually bent the sides of the coupler and the shaft didn't budge.
DO NOT BANG ON THE SHAFT WITH A HAMMER. You can crack bearings in the engine or knock a hole in the back of the transmission.
One other thing is after you try everything else and then do what I am saying anyway, go ahead and replace the cutlass bearing. They are only like $10 or $20 and will save you later from vibrations and having to pull the boat again too soon.
There is a link we can show you that gives pics and everything to help you replace the cutlass bearing. They are not that bad.
The gear puller should not have broken unless it was a world class turd. I have learned over the years when it comes to tools like that, just buy a good one.

Don12364 · Oct 16, 2010

Your details do not indicate type or age of boat so help may be sparse.

If it is a 2 bladed prop try putting a weight on one side of the hub and giving it a few hard blows with a heavy hammer on the other side. This should momentarily make the prop oval and start the joint.
Now a powerful puller should work. Wind it up to full tension and bang the hub side on again.
Do not strike it along the shaft but only at right angles. This way no forces are transmitted to the gearbox.
Treat a 3 blader similarly but use 2 weights (and 3 hands!) to counterbalance the blows.

You appear to want to remove the flange at the gearbox also. This is normally a clamp fit with a key. Edit - The key is at the prop end and not usually on the coupling - my typing mistake - apologies.
In this case separate the flange from the gearbox. Then slacken the clamping bolts on the flange and feel with your fingers, or use a mirror, to see if there is a bolt into the end of the shaft. Some have this to prevent the shaft pulling out of the boat if the prop gets snagged. If so remove it.
Then spray WD40 and put a suitably sized socket spanner between the two flanges and replace the bolts. Tighten up equally on each bolt and she should come off sweetly.

Once you start cutting things you never know where it will end and most certainly make sure you have already identified a source of suitable replacement items, particularly if it is an uncommon boat or an old one.

Maine Sail · Oct 16, 2010

Sometimes no matter how hard you try it won't come off...

After this one broke it was ground/cut directly over the shaft key and then it finally came off..

Ross · Oct 16, 2010

Remember that the prop is driven onto a taper by the nuts that are tightened. This is not a plain keyed straight shaft. My prop puller is far more robust than any of my gear pullers. It has a fine thread one inch diameter screw and is limited to 1 1/4 inch shaft size. There are no doubt larger pullers for larger shafts.

gettinthere · Oct 18, 2010

I had one heck if a time pulling my shaft. I tried like crazy to save the flange. Don't bother!

I drilled a line of holes into the keyway in the flange and then used a small cutting wheel to "connect the dots", that made the removal pretty easy. A new flange for my 1.25" shaft was only about $60. Search for marinemachining.com. They make tons of flanges and likely will have yours. I took my shaft to them (live nearby) and it was perfectly true so no need to replace or repair. My boat is a 1985 and the shaft was still in excellent condition. Shafts can be straightened if bent.

You WILL need to have the flange matched to the shaft by a good prop shop. There is no way to expect all flanges will be an exact match for all shafts so it is likely that the flange is about 1 or 2 thousandths too tight. a good machine shop can make the fit just right. It will still need a small amount of force to get it on but not a major whacking.

NYSail · Oct 18, 2010

My coupling was severely corroded when I purchased my boat. I used a drill and cutter to remove the coupling as it was rusted onto the shaft. I first unhooked it from the transmission so that no damage would occur due to all the banging I was doing. Once I split the coupling I put a metal wedge between and it came apart. Was not an easy or quick task. Lots of sweat and swearing

Anchorsaweigh · Oct 18, 2010

Why is everyone in such a hurry to grab the drill, spin cutter, the hammer, etc.?

There has never been a coupling I could not free with a little patience, a little heat, and a little pressure. Same thing goes for props. By the way, most gear pullers purchased at your local Auto Zone are not robust enough for much more than an alternator pulley or timing gear.

Also, Donalex is correct with regard to removing the shaft coupling at the transmission. Separate the two couplings, loosen the "set screws/indexing bolts" on the shaft coupling, spray liberally with a penetrating oil and give it time to work. Then, place a socket that is slightly smaller than the shaft diameter in the middle of the shaft between the shaft coupling and the transmission flange and reassemble. Draw down evenly on each coupling bolt until the shaft and coupling are separated. Apply heat if you need to either by torch or heating pad. If you use a torch, remeber to protect the surrounding area from the flame; I use a piece of wood and have a fire extinguisher at the ready.

Cheers,

Bob

Maine Sail · Oct 18, 2010

Anchorsaweigh said:
Why is everyone in such a hurry to grab the drill, spin cutter, the hammer, etc.?

There has never been a coupling I could not free with a little patience, a little heat, and a little pressure.

Bob,

You've been very, very lucky. I can assure you there are LOTS of non-split couplings that will NEVER come off in a boat. The one pictured above had been soaked in PB Blaster for over a week, heat was applied and the socket trick used. That is what broke the ears off the flange and it could have just as easily been the transmission end that broke which would have been a 2k repair. I watched my friend apply 8 tons of machine shop press to one before it finally broke free. Not going to ever do that inside the boat. If it wont break free be VERY, VERY, VERY careful using the socket technique that you do not break the gear box coupling.

Couplings that rusted should not be re-used anyway and cutting one off with a 4" angle grinder, or Dremel with cut off wheel, by slicing it right over the key way slot is easy.

petersea · Oct 18, 2010

"As for the prop, there is a key holding it in. Does that have to be removed first? I never had a problem in the past pulling any gear with a key in it.
Oh year, I tapped the end of the prop with a 3 pound hammer and it did nothing. The prop is 18" with about 4 inches on the shaft.
Any suggestions"

As others have suggested get a prop puller, the correct tool for the job. Will be about a two minute job to remove and you do not have to remove key first. DO NOT stand directly behind prop (or let anyone stand there)as sometimes the prop will literally "FLY" off the shaft. My suggestion is to loosen the nuts a quarter of an inch but to leave it on the shaft ( too prevent prop from coming completely off.) and use the prop puller to loosen the prop off shaft. At that point you will be able to remove the prop simply by picking it up. Many people have been hurt by trying to remove a prop incorrectly so above all SAFETY is most important ! ! You may need a slide hammer to loose the shaft from the coupling but as others have suggested may not be worth trying save coupling and a slide hammer removal may damage the bearing in the transmission. There are two piece couplers that will prevent you from having to go thru this again if you ever need to remove the shaft and coupling again. Good Luck !

Maine Sail · Oct 18, 2010

petersea said:
DO NOT stand directly behind prop (or let anyone stand there)as sometimes the prop will literally "FLY" off the shaft. My suggestion is to loosen the nuts a quarter of an inch but to leave it on the shaft ( too prevent prop from coming completely off.)

Bingo! Leave the prop nut on but loose..

petersea said:
You may need a slide hammer to loose the shaft from the coupling but as others have suggested may not be worth trying save coupling and a slide hammer removal may damage the bearing in the transimision.

Please NEVER use a slide hammer with the prop coupling attached to the gear box! I watched two yard monkeys at a rather disreputable yard installing a slide hammer on a shaft. While walking by I suggested that this was not good practice if the shaft was still connected to the gear box inside the boat. They shrugged it off. Twenty minutes later the yard manager was shaking his head and muttering swear words under his breath after the yard monkeys blew the gear box apart.

I like this quot from a DIY who had decided his yard would not do his next job:

"I elected to do this job myself because the boat yard planned to use a slide hammer on the shaft to remove the shaft from the coupling. A previous yard did this to another boat I had and the transmission rear seal leaked from then on."

He actually got lucky it was only a seal leak!

Oh and I like this one too:

"With the excitement of the shaft moving, we both got renewed strength. One more time should do it. With a mighty bang of the sliding hammer the shaft moved a foot or more, “but what was that sound hitting the bottom of the boat?” “Ah it’s probably the packing gland nut falling off the end of the shaft.” “No, it sounded larger than that,” I said to my friend. I hurried up the ladder to the cockpit, down the hatchway and into the engine compartment. The nightmare begins. My transmission was no longer connected to the engine. The transmission housing was broken, the transmission gear shaft was pulled completely out of the transmission and to make matters worse, the coupler, still attached to the shaft, was wedged between the subfloor and the bottom of the boat."

It takes 10-20 minutes to cut a coupling off, with the right tools and technique, and no gear box leaking or smashing or bearing damage will occur.

Witzend · Oct 18, 2010

I had a prop shop (a professional mine you) remove my coulping with a special tool. Well this monkey got the the coupling cherry red hot with a oxy/acetylene torch and almost ruined my shaft. The bolt that was pushing on the end of the shaft actually displaced the end of it as it was so hot it became molten. The coupling did finally come off, but if I was not planning on shorting the shaft due to the installation of a flex coupling I would have needed a new shaft. Cut the sucker off as Maine has described.

gettinthere · Oct 18, 2010

I soaked my coupling for over a month almost every day. Used a lot of heat. Would not budge.

What really got me was finding a new coupling only cost $65. Why bother with all that wrasslin? Get a new coupler and be done with it.

Maine Sail · Oct 18, 2010

gettinthere said:
I soaked my coupling for over a month almost every day. Used a lot of heat. Would not budge.

What really got me was finding a new coupling only cost $65. Why bother with all that wrasslin? Get a new coupler and be done with it.

I remember that drama well. It was like a soap opera...

kloudie1 · Oct 18, 2010

Yup.. Maine is correct .. never hammer on a prop shaft that is connected to the transmission. Even without breaking the box, there is a high risk of “brinelling” the thrust bearings in the transmission. The hammer strike impact can drive the balls into the race hard enough to make little dimples in the race. The bearing will fail after a short time of running after brinelling because of the stresses caused by the balls running through the dimples.. A brinelled bearing will make an audible rumble at low speeds.. I see folks whacking the zinc halfs together.. that is fine because the impact is sideways and not directed in line with the thrust bearings..

captstu · Oct 18, 2010

Bang the end of the shaft with the biggest hammer you can find. Leave the nut on to protect the threads, back the nut 1/2 turn from tight. Pull against the prop by hand or with a rope to apply some tension. Bang the nut hard, very hard, and extremely hard. It will come off. After the prop moves, loosen the nut another 1/2 turn and bang it again.

If this fails, heat the prop and do it again.

Maine Sail · Oct 18, 2010

captstu said:
Bang the end of the shaft with the biggest hammer you can find. Leave the nut on to protect the threads, back the nut 1/2 turn from tight. Pull against the prop by hand or with a rope to apply some tension. Bang the nut hard, very hard, and extremely hard. It will come off. After the prop moves, loosen the nut another 1/2 turn and bang it again.

If this fails, heat the prop and do it again.

Please don't do this if you value your gear box...

They make prop pullers for a reason. In a pinch a large three jaw gear puller can work on shafts up to about 1"..

Hermit Scott · Oct 19, 2010

I made sure I would not be dealing with the coupling drama again. This is a stainless steel coupler that I had made at a local machine shop. I think it cost $100. Also I used anti-seize when I assembled it.
I dug the old coupler out of the scrap pile. This was done in a shop in a press. 4 tons wouldn't budge it, just bent the flange. I only had it supported on two sides though. But that is 1/2" steel! It was soaked in PB blaster.
The shaft was wasted on mine so I didn't care about cutting it. If the shaft is still good cutting along the keyway definitely sounds like the fastest and safest means.

petersea · Oct 19, 2010

[They make prop pullers for a reason. In a pinch a large three jaw gear puller can work on shafts up to about 1"..

[/quote]

Maine Sail ! ! You of all people ! ! Where is the prop nut ?

prop and shaft pulling

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