Advice on Pulling Off the Cutlass Bearing . . .

[sailvayu]

Cutlass bearings are press fit into the strut tube. There are usually a couple of set screws, sometimes on both sides check carefully. Most bearings are pulled using a split tube and hydraulic press with the shaft in place. the shaft helps keep the split tubes in place. These tools are not cheap. I would say if the shaft is out your best course would be to split at least one side of the bearing with a hack saw blade (take the blade out of the handle place it thru the inside of the bearing and put the handle back on) Cut thru the rubber and brass housing of the bearing. You can also use a saws all with a long blade but either way try not to cut the strut tube. After cut you can use a screw driver to roll the metal in. Then the bearing will come out. Freeze (to make it slightly smaller) the new one first then use a block of wood and hammer to tap (Bang crap out of) the new bearing in. Piece of cake. All else fails pay the bill and know you tried. Good luck

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Portobello

Mine was held in place with a couple of thumb screws in from the side of the P Bracket. I removed these (after finding them hidden under antifoul etc) then using a drift made from a short half section of aluminium tube managed to tap the old cutlass bearing out. All went quite smoothly. The new one pressed on/in quite easily and I did up the thumb screws.

Quote/reply: delmarrey--FYI-This is done when the bore of the strut (P-bracket) has been eroded enough that the bearing doesn't press in any more but slides in. If it's an EZ slide (by hand) then start looking at a replacing the strut. The cutless will start to rattle around in the strut/P-bracket.

Originally Posted by sailvayu

Cutlass bearings are press fit into the strut tube. There are usually a couple of set screws, sometimes on both sides check carefully.

One other thing I should have mentioned. Another purpose for the set screws are if one splits the bearing from the inside with a hacksaw blade close to the set screws. Then one can tighten the set screws, which squeezes the bearing inward a bit, which loosens the bearing, then by backing off the screws one can push the bearing out the end.

[kismet]

If the shaft is toast, just take a Sawsall into the boat and start cutting it into manageable sized lengths. Once that is out of the way getting the bearing out is easy using any of the methods mentioned.

[Ocean Roads]

NOTE TO SELF- NEVER go to PA via land, sea or air.

[bobs]

Hi Mitch,

have a look at the jeanneau board , its about a multitool i made to easily replace the cutless bearing.
Mind you , this is not to tap myself on the shoulder , i'm merely trying to help in a way others have helped me.
Hints & Tips

Scroll down to ' cutless bearing multitool '.

Good luck

[MitchM]

that is one beautiful cutlesss bearing puller tool you have there. now i am totally envious of such a fine tool. my problem is that the local machine shop might charge me as much to make that puller as the mechanic would charge me to pull the @#$% bearing.... ah, if i only had my own machine shop....well maybe the tool in your folder could be made of less durable and fancy materials.. hmm i have some time to speculate on this one whilst waiting for the manufacturer's advice.....

[4HMainer]

We would never use a hammer to remove or install a bearing, puller or press that you can wind up the pressure gradually is the only way for press fit bearings.

And why press fit when you can have a clearance fit bearing? Having a clearance fit bearing allows you to cgeck carrier alignment, with the shaft chocked you can have a dry run at assembly and you should be able to spin th ebearing in the carrier on the shaft, if you can't you have an alignment issue.

You can use our clearance calculator to see what the finished size should be, then get th elocal machine shop to finish it to suit your drive.

Bedded on epoxy they can be removed easily with some heat applied to the carrier.

[MitchM]

according to the mfgr the prop shaft comes off more easily when you remove the cutless bearing 1st. so i have to figure out how to remove the cutless bearing while boat is on the hard -- without sawing a perfectly good cutless bearing in 2 to remove it , or paying a mechanic, or spending a lot of $$$$ on a bearing pulller tool that i will likely use only 2x in my boating life , once to take OFF the c bearing and once to put another one ON...but if and when i i did put another one on the 'clearance fit bearing...' sounds interesting. back to my musings.

[Mark Zarley]

If the shaft is bent I would be worried about the alignment of the strut. Just saying that it supported the shaft that was bent , so how could it not be bent or missaligned as a result. The cutlass bearing is a consumable in comparrision to the strut.

[Chief Engineer]

I think you should get in touch with an Admiralty LAwyer

[MitchM]

well thanks for the cheerful thought of hiring a lawyer. i try to avoid hiring lawyers at all costs. have you ever tried suing the (state) government ?? this is not exactly a big contingent fee case...by the time i paid a lawyer $400 an hour and $150 in filing fees to draw up a complaint to sue the government , i could afford a nice $398 worth of new tools to do it myself . i could even buy me the -strut puller' fancy internet tool and learn some fun boat things in the process. (things would be a lot simpler if i lived near a mechanic who had cutless bearing tools... )

COST ANALYSIS:

(1) hire a lawyer $400 an hour out of my pocket , spend a few thou and lose the case because most governments have figured out how to avoid being sued for employee ineptitude ...

(2) file an insurance claim with $1000 deductible and lose my $280 a year no-claims credit....

(3) take my nice tool box to the boat while it's on the hard some sunny 60 degree day . stop at homedepot and get me some bolts threaded rods and washers , a maple dowel rod and a new hacksaw blade. take off prop shaft, cut out the old cutless bearing with hack saw, 'tap haha' the old bearing out. buy new bearing for $49.(plus $5 freight.) take prop shaft to be laser aligned. get prop shaft back, put new cutless bearing in freezer for 24 hrs, have a beer or 2 waiting for it to chill . install new cutless first, or maybe install prop shaft first. i'll figure this out later .

cost : probably a lot less than thousands for the lawyer, or a grand for the insurance claim deductible......

and look how much fun i can have.

[Chief Engineer]

Fun indeed>>>>>I like the idea a previous poster had about slicing the bearing and using the set screws to push it in......I am going to try that on the next cutlass bearing I do....End of November

[MitchM]

well apparently it is possible to get a nice new sharp hacksaw blade, slide it so that its teeth bears on the thin brass of the cutless bearing , then fasten the saw frame back on to the blade and saw the c b brass away. supposedly if there are set screws thru the p strut , you can tighten the screws to deform the brass enough to make it easier to cut the brass. the only thing that isn't clear is whether the prop shaft has to come out to do all these little chores. a newsflash from the boat manufacturer states that the cutless bearing is held in by some heat-softenable epoxy substance so it is a new style clearance bearing not an old style press fit hard to g et out bearing. the mfgr thinks the bearing will just 'slide out easily' after the 'glue' has been softened with a heat gun. '

tomorrow it will be 65 and sunny, a perfect day for fooling around with a prop shaft and cutless bearing. if i can actually accomplish this task of pulling the prop shaft and cutless bearing without spending thousands on tools, lawyers or insurance deductibles , a case of electronic beers will be sent to all of you for your helpful advice. so stay tuned..

[blgklr]

I would not bother to straighten shaft and install a new one. You should be able to remove old shaft first and then see what shape the bearing is in. Maybe you do not have to remove and replace bearing. Anyway you do it will be easier if old shaft is removed first.

[donradcliffe]

+1 on cutting the shaft between the bend and the strut--it could be a real struggle to get the bend through a cutlass bearing. You can then slide the remains of the shaft out, get a new shaft made (not cheap), and replace the cutlass bearing while the shaft is out (threaded rod and some washers to press it out)