Propeller shaft rotation drag?

[SanJuanDreamer]

For what its worth...I have 98 Mariner with 1500hrs.
While mine is on the hard...for weeks sometimes, I can place a towel on a blade and turn it by hand, the cutlass bearing will squeal, its not free spinning but seems easy enough. Both shafts take the same amount of pressure to turn and I have dripless.

Seems to me, if the shaft is disconnected from the drive, it should spin easily, if not, then maybe look at the cutlass bearing and shaft tube.
Just my two cents...I may deserve change...

[Viper]

You should be able to turn the shafts by hand. A little bit of resistance is not uncommon but you should not have to heave on it especially when uncoupled from the tranny flange. Check the condition of the strut bearings and whether the shafts are centered in them and not pinching one side. Also ensure the shafts are centered in the tube on the outside of the hull where they enter. A melted seal in a dripless log or a warped log housing will cause the shaft to bind but I would also expect to see a leak at the log under these conditions. Depending on the condition and location, a bent shaft can also cause your symptom.

Source of the post..... I checked the alignment and it is with in tolerances.....

How did you do this and what tolerance are you using?

[Helmsman]

Source of the post This is the lip seal? I have not messed with this at all. Now that the boat is out of the water, I can look at it. Little bit of water that collects in the bilge under the seal. The seals do not leak.

I don’t think that is the issue. It is a Tides Marine shaft seal. Forward, it has a bearing that the shaft spins through. There is water in the rubber baffle. It could be something caught between the shaft and the seal , but if that is the case it would probably leak. Sometimes trash gets caught up in the baffle and that could be the source of something caught between the shaft and where it leave s the boat. You may be able to burp any remaining water out by compressing the rubber baffle. Since it is out of the water, it is fairly simple to disconnect and check out.

I would strongly urge you to read the literature on it first though. If you make a mistake with it you can create a leak. It is important to order new set screws and not reuse the old. You may want to consider replacing if the unit is over six years old.

[amanphoto]

After further research, I've determined that the cutlass bearings are bad. The boat is out of the water on the hard so I was able to spray some oil down into the bearings. The shafts spoon with a lot more ease - even more then in the water. The bearings are original to the boat and are showing some dry rotting and cracking. It's a simple repair, so I'm going to slide the old ones out and new ones in. I will post more pics when the job is done.

[bud37]

That will be good to see what method you use.......regarding my earlier question about the anodes, don't forget that in fresh water to use magnesium anodes......there were what looked like small corrosion spots on the prop and the anode on the shaft looked like it is zinc....hard to say from the pic , that is why I asked.....good luck with it man.....

[amanphoto]

Update: Removed Propeller with standard auto parts store puller($40). Worked like a charm. I like it better then your standard scissor style puller ($300) because the puller has more surface area on propeller and less marring of surface. The auto puller worked because I have 4 blades and symmetrical space on both sides of the propeller to attach. I also have a scissor style puller for other projects.

[amanphoto]

Update: Removed P-Brackets from boat.

[amanphoto]

Update: Tried to cut out old Cutlass Bearing. Did not work!

IMG_5579.jpg

Got aggravated and took it to a friends 10 ton press.

IMG_5603.jpg

They are out!

IMG_5608.jpg

Need clean and press in new bearings.

IMG_5610.jpg

[amanphoto]

Side note:
Since the propellers are off. This is a good time to give them a polish and send check them for true.

[bud37]

See, you are the go to guy for this now......reminds me of the lower control arm torsion bar bushing on mopars,just like those pics some easy , some not so much..thanks for the pics.....good job man.