coupler alignment on 34 express

flash gordon

Member
Jul 5, 2013
63
New Baltimore, MI
Boat Info
1985 34 express
Engines
454
when i had my 84 34 express winterized last fall,,the marina left note taped to my steering wheel , that both motors ,350 hp crusauaders, needed alignment.
so , i was talking tony, who owns swan creek harbor in fairhaven mi, and he said you are suppose to align boat motors when boat is in water????

BY running the motors to winterize them , would you see if they are out of alignment???
The boat ran fine ,,no shakes or vibrations,,,

just trying to figure out....
thanks for any advice
gordo...........
 
Bad alignment will normally cause a vibration. You can watch the prop shaft at idle when in gear to check for wobble. If no wobble and no vibration leave well enough alone.
 
Bad alignment will normally cause a vibration. You can watch the prop shaft at idle when in gear to check for wobble. If no wobble and no vibration leave well enough alone.

I have an 86 EC, my mechanic turns the shafts by hand, if there is difficulty turning then the motor needs to be moved over to align the shafts. Took half hour last time.
Cheers Rob
 
when i had my 84 34 express winterized last fall,,the marina left note taped to my steering wheel , that both motors ,350 hp crusauaders, needed alignment.
so , i was talking tony, who owns swan creek harbor in fairhaven mi, and he said you are suppose to align boat motors when boat is in water????

Shaft alignment must be performed after the boat has been in the water for at least two weeks. The hull shape changes slightly when it is out of the water. Having the shaft alignment performed when the boat is out of the water will result in a ruined V drive (don't ask me how I know). :eek: If the boat was winterized when it was out of the water then the shaft alignment is most likely fine. It will come back into alignment once the boat is put back in the water.
 
The correct way is to pull the boat,remove the coupler bolts, center the shaft in the shaft log, then align coupler to shaft. Check for any vibration when put back in the water
 
I have an 86 EC, my mechanic turns the shafts by hand, if there is difficulty turning then the motor needs to be moved over to align the shafts. Took half hour last time.
Cheers Rob

That can also be caused by a tight cutlass. Of course it would be difficult to turn by hand when the shaft coupler is unbolted.
 
To check alignment all you have to do is take a feeler gauge and check the gap around between coupler faces.adjust if required.
 
To check alignment all you have to do is take a feeler gauge and check the gap around between coupler faces.adjust if required.
hello,,,yes ,,this is what i have seen online how to check. i dont think the guy that winterized my motors did that.as i didnt pay to have shafts or alignment checked. and we all know its always about money. but ,,,boat ran fine ,,no vibrations..pushed motors up to 3500,,3800 a few times,,,ran great..
 
what is a cutlass???
The cutlass bearing is located under the boat just before the prop. It is the rubber bearing that supports the prop shaft. Sometimes they swell up and cause the prop shaft to bind and they can also wear out and develop excessive play which can cause a vibration.
 
The cutlass bearing is located under the boat just before the prop. It is the rubber bearing that supports the prop shaft. Sometimes they swell up and cause the prop shaft to bind and they can also wear out and develop excessive play which can cause a vibration.
ahhh,,,ok,,,and you can replace the standard bearing with a water cooled unit,,correct???
my other 34 SD had a water cooled bearing ..
again thanks ,,will look at in few weeks
 
Hopefully the alignment is good. You can check the coupler gap now so in the future you know what to look for if you suspect an alignment problem. Its better to practice when there is no problem.
 
The correct way is to pull the boat,remove the coupler bolts, center the shaft in the shaft log, then align coupler to shaft. Check for any vibration when put back in the water

Actually, it must be done in the water and a feeler gauge is used to determine the alignment. The coupler bolts are removed and the shaft couple is backed off just out of the trans coupler and put back in by hand and then a feeler gauge is used to see that the coupler faces are no more then 2-3 thousands out of parallel. Then four engine mounts are adjusted accordingly to obtain a parallel coupling surface. The shaft should drop a bit when backed off as that is normal.

Older boats lose their shape a bit when on blocks out of the water, enough that proper shaft alignment is next to impossible.
 
ahhh,,,ok,,,and you can replace the standard bearing with a water cooled unit,,correct???
my other 34 SD had a water cooled bearing ..
again thanks ,,will look at in few weeks

I think you are confusing a few things. The cutlass bearing is located in the strut that holds the shaft and is located a few inches in front of the prop. As mentioned the bearing does wear out and should be checked for excessive play. The bearing when new has a bit of play in it to begin with so have someone with experience check the play.

The water cooled your referring too is the shaft log (stuffing box) where the shaft enters the boat.
 
I think you are confusing a few things. The cutlass bearing is located in the strut that holds the shaft and is located a few inches in front of the prop. As mentioned the bearing does wear out and should be checked for excessive play. The bearing when new has a bit of play in it to begin with so have someone with experience check the play.

The water cooled your referring too is the shaft log (stuffing box) where the shaft enters the boat.

ahhh ok...so cutlass in down in water,,,and bearing is where exit or enter boat...think i got it..thanks..had a 87 34 SD for 5 years ,,never had issue,,this EC i got last summer ,,but boat ran great...so i really wonder about this ,,,want to get right as i must sell boat..thanks again
ps.. i have owned many sea rays ,,really never any issues,,,but i have done alot of work on my 38 scarab with 547 motors..pulled motors rebuilt motors etc..but u expect to have to wrench on a preformance boat..
 
ahhh ok...so cutlass in down in water,,,and bearing is where exit or enter boat...think i got it..thanks..had a 87 34 SD for 5 years ,,never had issue,,this EC i got last summer ,,but boat ran great...so i really wonder about this ,,,want to get right as i must sell boat..thanks again
ps.. i have owned many sea rays ,,really never any issues,,,but i have done alot of work on my 38 scarab with 547 motors..pulled motors rebuilt motors etc..but u expect to have to wrench on a preformance boat..

The cutlass bearing is in the strut that supports the shaft below the boat.
The shaft packing gland or shaft seal is at the end of the tube where the shaft passes through the hull.
 
ahhh ok...so cutlass in down in water,,,and bearing is where exit or enter boat...think i got it..thanks. ...

Almost... As myself and @techmitch have said, the Cutlass BEARING is located in the strut under water. The Shaft Log/Stuffing Box (sort of bearing), is in the tube that enters the boat. It use to be called a stuffing box because before dripless "bearings" there was a nut and collar that had thick twine (1/4-3/8") that was wrapped around the shaft and then sandwiched between the collar and nut.

I don't mean to be a stickler but if you ask questions, you need to know what to reference for people to know how to respond.
 

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