Cutlas Bearing

[JohnnyJacob]

Hi all, First time posting here and a quick question hoping someone can help me with. My cutlas bearing is bad... I have a Cutwater c26 2012... can someone tell me what part info for the cutlas bearing? HUGELY Appreciated. I have her out of the water and would love to get this rolling and done so I can get back in and out with her! Thanks!

 

[SGIDAVE]

Hi all, First time posting here and a quick question hoping someone can help me with. My cutlas bearing is bad... I have a Cutwater c26 2012... can someone tell me what part info for the cutlas bearing? HUGELY Appreciated. I have her out of the water and would love to get this rolling and done so I can get back in and out with her! Thanks!

Hello JJ,

How many hours on your C26? Do you have much vibration whilst underway?

A 2012 inboard should not need a new cutlass bearing. If it does, I would see the worn cutlass as a SYMPTOM of a different problem...like mis-aligned propeller shaft, dinged/unbalanced propeller, etc.

The factory will have to advise on the size of cutlass bearing replacement.

/dave

 

[JohnnyJacob]

Hi Dave,
Thanks so much for the response... She has 300 hrs.... Makes sense, I'll keep an eye on it. My guess is that I did hit something and although I don't see any noticeable dings or damage to the prop possibly need to have my prop looked at, I'll bring it down to my prop shop soon to hopefully rule that in or out as the issue. I did change the bearing this morning, now she is chugging along just fine. The symptom prior was shaking once I brought up the throttle and also just not increasing in speed despite the higher throttle (I would bring her to 3200 rpm's, 83% power which usually gives me 12-15 depending on tides, wind, etc. but instead she would stay in the 5-7mph idle range).
For reference the bearing size was --> 1-1/4" with 1-3/4"shell 5" long (copper shell).
Thanks again for the info/note. I appreciate it and will keep a close on everything.

 

[SGIDAVE]

Hi Dave,
The symptom prior was shaking once I brought up the throttle and also just not increasing in speed despite the higher throttle (I would bring her to 3200 rpm's, 83% power which usually gives me 12-15 depending on tides, wind, etc. but instead she would stay in the 5-7mph idle range).
For reference the bearing size was --> 1-1/4" with 1-3/4"shell 5" long (copper shell).
Thanks again for the info/note. I appreciate it and will keep a close on everything.

Hello JJ,

It sounds like there was a problem with your propeller mounting...meaning if your engine is at 3200 rpm and you are making 5-7mph headway...someting is WAY wrong...like the prop shaft key is fractured, etc...somehow the prop shaft is spinning but the propeller is NOT. Or, there is a transmission issue; less likely but if there is a history of a major prop strike could be.

If the drivetrain is smooth now you are probably fine. If residual vibration, check the prop shaft for 'straight-ness.' Again, if history of prop strike, consider possibility of bent prop shaft.

Are the prop shaft/transmission coupler bolts/nuts tight?

Fair winds,

 

[BB marine]

Hi JohnnyJacob
I agree with Fairwinds. The key in the keyway is to stop the prop from rotating on the shaft in the event that the prop slips on the taper. Properly installed prop to prop shaft is held in place by the taper fit and the key is an anti-rotation devise . 1 1/4" taper shaft requires torquing the prop nut to 120 to 150 ftlbs to properly seat the prop taper to shaft taper. A loose fit could cause the prop to torque against the key and shear it and possibly gaulded to the shaft which would cause slippage and damage the taper. You would have seen this when you removed the prop to replace your cutlass bearing.

I have a few questions for you. What was the condition of the bearing that you removed? How wore out was it? Was there more wear in a certain quadrant (12,3,6,9 o'clock) ? Did you check shaft runout? What method did you use to remove the bearing? I would like to know the best method of removing the cutlas bearing. I have never replaced a cutlas installed in the shaft log. My experience is replacing cutlas bearings in standard struts.

Im glad your issues are gone but I really don't see what the cutlas bearing had to do with your loss of speed. Usually it causes a bad vibration.

Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

 

[JohnnyJacob]

Hi Fairwinds/Brian --
So I'll try and answer your questions on the same response. Thanks again for the discussion, any other questions let me know.

Overall vibration and lack of speed - The cutlass bearing in general was definitely to blame here, although I agree it seems to have worn out pre-maturely so I'll be watching this and ensuring I catch any further issues before they get to this point. Lack of speed was due to the bearing being worn down and the prop vibrating at higher load and thus not performing optimally.

Keyway - There are no set screws on the keyways on the shaft, they sit in shaped holes on the coupler side so they can't move.

Shaft, bearing wear - The prop was on the shaft tight, we had a hell of a time getting it off in fact. Once off and the shaft inspected all looked fine there... the bearing was worn evenly all the way around but half the distance up failed and the rubber separated from the shell. We used a feeler gauge to check alignment afterwards.

Removal -- We used a shaved down gimble bearing puller on a heavy slide hammer to remove it.

 

[BB marine]

Thank you for response back. It seems like it may have been a defective bearing or some how ran dry. Thanks for the info on the removal tool . I have a gimble bearing puller from my Mercruiser days. I will modify a set of jaws to fit in a 1 1/4 bore just in case the need arises. There are some photos of a puller I made for removing the prop in my albums. It works good Pops it right off the taper.
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE