Remove Max - Prop. How ?

[patprice]

Hi All
Penelope, 2000 B 42 Cruiser is in the storage yard at Aktio marina, Greece for a few months.
I believe my prop is a 3 blade, Max - Prop Generation 1 feathering prop ?
How do I remove it ? It is fitted to a 120 S Volvo leg, splined I reckon.
I have removed the front cone anode and have come to what I see in the photo.
I expected to see a nut, but there is this disc thing protruding about 4mm from the face.
Can anyone advise where I go from here.
Thanks
Pat

[ErikFinn]

First you should clean that up. You should see the body is actually made of two halves held together by bolts and nuts. You can find excellent videos at PYI site, and some here, just google "Cruisersforum Max Prop".
Cheers.

http://www.pyiinc.com/index.php?section=downloads

http://www.pyiinc.com/index.php?sect...op&action=main

[Paul L]

Don't forget to write down the blade settings before you remove them, or won't be able to get it back together correctly.

[patprice]

Thanks for the responses. And I promise to clean it up...I will...I PROMISE.

But all I want to do initially is remove the prop from the leg spline so I can remove the old leg anode and fit a new one.

Does removing the prop from the spline upset the blade settings? Do I have to slit the body to remove it ? Surely not !

[topmast]

Surely yes, tiny spilt pins on front disk need pulling before removing the plate. All the parts must go back as originally assembled. Even parts from another prop are not likely to be useful. Body comes apart after blades are removed to reveal the splined main bit . It's held on with a nut on the shaft.. nut has a round keeper pin to keep it from turning. I've done this many times but never without the manual really close by so as not to lose a step and to record to markings . The blades are numbered too. Pitch and rt/left hand are controlled with numbers,letters and dots on the parts you just took off Careful on the cleaning

[topmast]

The cone anode must be the right one too. Several to choose ,lookalike but one prevents blades from swivel past feathered. locktite the threads

[patprice]

OK good advise thanks.

I will not take the prop off the shaft. And I will cut away the inner leg anode and replace it with a split anode which I assume is available.

I will pump some good grease into it. I have identified the thread required for a grease nipple.

Now need to find a split anode and a nipple to suit.

[SteveSails]

Before you take anything apart review the manuals and videos from PYI and get very familiar with the innards of your Max Prop. It does need to come apart to remove and its very easy to put back together the wrong way. While your on the PYI website order the screw kit and grease kit. Some of the screws have holes for locking cotter pins and they come with a locking compound applied. There are many different sizes and styles of Max Props so you may want to talk to PYI about YOUR prop.
As for the drive leg anode clean it up and see if it is in two halves that bolt together, you may not need to remove the prop. If not then you should still get the proper zerk grease fittings and Lubriplate grease, grease the prop and replace the cone anode.

[dsteinfeld]

Take this slow and careful in order to get the two settings you'll need when you reassemble. Before removing the 6 bolts holding the rear disk on, rotate the prop so that the blades are feathered (facing fore and aft). Tape the hub so that it cannot rotate, and then remove the rear disk. You'll then be able to slide the 3 blades out as a unit, as they fit on a Y shaped spacer. Make sure the hub doesn't rotate while you're doing this, as there is an index mark on one of the internal faces, and you need the letter (I think, may be a number) that it is next to. Also note that each blade, the spacer, and the hub are all marked with a blade number, so when you reassemble you need to make sure all are in the right place.

Once you have the blades out, there are 4 bolts (all with cotters) that hold the two halves of the hub together. Remove those to expose the center spline and the gear inserted in it's rear. When you pull that gear, note its setting (marked with an "x" I think). That's the 2nd setting you'll need to reassemble. If you get the settings wrong you'll either have the wrong pitch or the wrong rotation (this prop can be assembled as either right or left hand). Under the gear you'll find the previously mentioned nut that holds the spline on the shaft. You'll probably need a gear or hub puller to get the spline off the shaft which is tapered.

When you reassemble you'll need to do the reverse--taping the hub in the right position, inserting all 3 blades simultaneously and all feathered, and then getting the rear disk on. It'll go much faster with 2 people.

Added: Good advice from SteveSails that was posted while I was typing this.

[J Clark H356]

Look at the YouTube videos before doing anything and given what your prop looks like, I would call PYI and talk to Jerome. I just had mine reconditioned and they are great to work with.


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[sailing_gal]

A good practice is to take a sharpie, and mark the location of each piece on the hub so you can put it back together easily.

[AdamLoory]

Get some help when doing this; more than two sets of hands are needed. It is really easy to have parts move out of place before you can wipe the grease away to record the settings. It took me five haul outs to get my reconditioned prop back to the correct settings. Watch the videos, talk to Jerome, but do not lose the original settings. Another trick is to have a high table under the prop so that if something falls, it does not get lost on the ground.

[patprice]

Blimey I am fearless but terrified to go near my prop with dismantling tools.

How about I get a full ring leg anode, cut it into two pieces through a horizontal line as it is seen in place, and dowel the but joint, each side, with stainless pins.

Penelope is in the water for less than 6 months each year so any comments please on that !

[Sailor647]

Here are a few photos of our 28-year-old Max Prop when we took it off. Note the black sharpie mark in the first photo.

We had it rebuilt by PYI, Inc. before putting it back on. They did an amazing job. Prop still works flawlessly two years later.
-- PYI Inc. Max-Prop PSS Shaft Seal Seaview Radar Mounts R&D --

Using split zincs is much easier than taking off the prop.

[patprice]

"Using split zincs is much easier than taking off the prop."