Cutlass Bearing
Jake: I replaced my cutlass bearing last summer. I used a sawzall to carefully cut through the old bearing in order to facilitate removal. I then used a large piece of threaded rod and some large washers with nuts as a tool to press the new bearing in place. Works like a charm! One tip that I followed was to keep the new bearing frozen until just prior to installing it. As far as shaft alignment, the boat should be in the water for a day or so before doing the final drive coupling alignment. A fiberglass boat has a tendency to distort in shape when on the hard, and it takes a little while for it to resume normal shape in the water. Have a new shaft flange machined along with the new shaft. Will pay dividends! If your old shaft was in proper alignment with the transmission, you shouldn't have to do any adjustments on the motor mounts. Just use a feeler guage to ensure the shaft flange mates up true with the transmission flange, and make any necessary adjustments if not true.
