Cutless struggles

[jeffandlori]

So I am in the midst of the dreaded cutless bearing replacement on my '71 Morgan 38. It is a conventional rubber bearing with a bronze shell. The shaft log appears to be brass. It was not secured with set screws, rather it seems to have been coated with adhesive, pressed in, and then displacement struck with a punch in two places where the outer shell of the bearing carrier meets the log to prevent rotation. The adhesive is visible on the inboard side of the bearing carrier, where it formed a small dam as the bearing was pressed in. It is either white or light yellow in color and fairly hard when probed, but does have a bit of give. I'm guessing 5200 or 4200. I have removed the rubber and constructed a pressing jig. A preliminary attempt yielded no movement, even with a lot of pressure (the jig is using a 3/4" rod). Before I started, I cut a relief gap the length of the bearing carrier adjacent to each of the strike dimples that goes as close as possible to the outer edge of the carrier, but without hitting the log.

My thought for the next try is either heat or cold. Some say that heat will soften the adhesive, but I wonder about it expanding the bearing. Some say to pack it with dry ice for a while first, which on paper sounds right. For those who have done something similar, what finally worked?

[Grippy]

Go with the "heat" option...

not sure what your mounting looks like... P-braket? shaft tube? skeg-mount?

It has been my experiance, enough heat will loosen most glues. And depending on hom the Cut Less is mounted, gives an idea of how much heat you can apply.
Do not worry about the rubber in the Cut Less burning or smoking... (smells bad, don't breath, Bahahahaha!)
since you already have one relief cut, give it one more, or perhaps 3 more....
it IS coming out!
Don't set fire to your boat, as this makes them unpleasant to sail, or even sleep in.

[wholybee]

Not sure how you rigged a puller. This is what I did and it worked very well. If this doesn't work, I imagine using a sawzall to VERY carefully cut the cutlass into 4 pieces, then use a chisel or punch to remove each piece.

The boatyard I was at said that is what they normally do, and that they (being experienced at it I guess) could do it pretty quickly and easily. They said they wouldn't attempt what I did because even though it seemed better and more "right" it was just too slow compared to the sawzall.

Not surprisingly, I get scared whenever someone other than me works on my boat. But the sawzall might be the solution.

[Bowdrie]

It appears your boat has an external bronze stern flange that is bolted to the back of the keel appendage, said unit holds the Cutless and the divot in the rudder allows the shaft to slide out?
I'd be very wary of applying heat anywhere near where metal and fiberglass come together with some kind of sealant.
Mechanical means, saws/chisels, I've used lengths of hacksaw blades held in Vise-Grips.
Whatever, when you put the new one in leave a 1/4>3/8ths sticking out.
Now you'll have something to grab on to the next time around.
You don't want 5200 to hold the new one in.
If necessary, with the new one slid over the shaft just make a few small dimples with a center punch, see how it fits.
Too loose? make a few more dimples, too tight? draw-file down a few dimples.
Don't beat it in, with a coat of Anti-Seize it should only take a few light>medium taps to seat it.

[Emmalina]

When you get it out replace it with a grp one a lot easier to remove I get mine from Exalto in the UK

[jeffandlori]

Thanks for all the replies, heat it is then.