Engine Alignment

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Lowestoft Mike

Ok, Mark, and Capn Morgan, thanks for that. I understand what you mean, but my coupling is made of metal, with bushes mounted in rubber, inserted in the metal disk, as per the attached picture. So, thin metal disk with bushes running through, mounted in rubber, and as you correctly say 2 flanges, each with two bolts - yokes, effectively. If there were 4 bolts per flange, life would be a lot easier.

Since starting this post, I've received the replacement part, and as your post suggests, it's made of some sort of flexible material, hmm....

It would really be nice to have some pictures of your couplings, since you haven't IDed your motor/tranny. But this is likely pre 1975. These flex couplers were used on old Austin cars.

If you have two flat surfaces on your metal couplers, normally the procedure is to pull the shaft forward until they meet and line them up that way first. There should be enough distance between your prop and cutless bearing to do this (1-1/2 X shaft diameter).

Conventional couplers have a register on them, one male and one female, to keep them on center to each other. Once that is done, then the use of the feeler gauge is used to square up the faces. Then you have to check center again and start over.

[delmarrey]

Just to add the tranny usually has the female and the shaft the male register. If yours doesn't have these registers the best thing would be to line up the outside diameters and the faces the best possible and let the flex coupler do the rest.

Have you tried to contact R&D to see what they say? sometimes they can substitute.

Personally, I'd change out the coupler system (upgrade). Some day the Metalastik may not be available anymore.

[Capn Morgan]

Originally Posted by Lowestoft Mike

Ok, Mark, and Capn Morgan, thanks for that. I understand what you mean, but my coupling is made of metal, with bushes mounted in rubber, inserted in the metal disk, as per the attached picture. So, thin metal disk with bushes running through, mounted in rubber, and as you correctly say 2 flanges, each with two bolts - yokes, effectively. If there were 4 bolts per flange, life would be a lot easier.

Since starting this post, I've received the replacement part, and as your post suggests, it's made of some sort of flexible material, hmm....

Your coupling looks like it may be able to take some mis-alignment, perhaps that is why it uses two bolts attached to each flange. Mine is different, like in this link: Flexible Drive Couplings - Poly Flex Group Pty Ltd

Perhaps a basic alignment would suffice?