Volvo MD1B - remove damping plate or taper pin?

[tworail]

Hi folks,

I'm working on a new to me Westerly Nomad that has a MD1B fitted. Things are pretty tight and in order to service / remove the bilge pump I need to back the prop shaft off so it can be pulled out.

What's the best approach here? The outer nuts on the coupling for the dampers seem to be the most accessible, but I wanted to avoid 'disturbing' them in case there are alignment issues when I put it back together. The inner bolts are a bit harder to access but could be possible to do the forward set without dropping anything in the bilge - which is currently a nasty mess.

The taper pin I haven't touched but assume it would need quite a wack on the thin side with a punch (keeping the nut in place as not to damage the threads) but that doesn't mean the shaft will slide out easily. Or that the pin will make it out and be reusable again. Everything was well maintained (if a bit disorganized now) and there isn't a trace of rust or corrosion, in fact, I can still see grease where the shaft goes into the coupling...

How would you tackle this?

[DougR]

I would go for the inner 4 bolts which hold the prop shaft taper pin coupling onto the flex coupling. A little more difficult, but that way there is no chance of tearing one of the rubber elements.

[SailingHarmonie]

If it was me, and I had it apart anyway, I'd replace the rubber inserts as a matter of course. They are not forever, and are not expensive.