340 Drive Train, Part 2

Does the engine or transmission sound different to you now? If you don't don't feel anything and don't hear anything, I would suggest having a diver check if you want peace of mind. It is pretty cheap insurance, and most take pictures and videos if you are there with them.
A little bit yes, but again, going from a river to Intercoastal to ocean may be playing into that as well. Will look into the diver
 
Picked up the new strut at the end of last week. It was fabricated by Morel Industries in Arlington WA. They manufacture struts for other boats than Sea Ray, but were willing to take this on. They did a fabulous job for me and were done in less than 2 weeks (and for less than Algonac). Cannot say enough good things about Morel.
The only challenge was that they do not drill the holes in the strut. Makes sense in case the original holes are in the wrong location. We worked through making the new holes in the boat yard.
On the left is the old one that was used to make a mold, and on the right is the new one.
62025339665-6565-B7-FD-F575-404-D-A988-2-A4-CBD4-D5348.jpg
 
Photo from this weekend. Made a jig to align the new strut to the boat's shaft log. There are four bolts on the bottom of the jig that allow angle movements to align (only one shows up in the picture). Once aligned, used the West System 105 epoxy as bedding for the strut.
When the boat was originally manufactured, Sea Ray used stainless washers on the top of the strut to shim to align, and I am was not a fan of using washers. So the epoxy made a firm bed than aligned the strut with the shaft log, and would not move when 5200 was applied.
IMG-6207.jpg
 
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Photo from this weekend. Made a jig to align the new strut to the boat's shaft log. There are four bolts on the bottom of the jig that allow angle movements to align (only one shows up in the picture). Once aligned, used the West System 105 epoxy as bedding for the strut.
When the boat was originally manufactured, Sea Ray used stainless washers on the top of the strut to shim to align, and I am was not a fan using washers. So the epoxy made a firm bed than aligned the strut with the shaft log, and would not move when 5200 was applied.
IMG-6207.jpg
Amazing!
 
Photo from this weekend. Made a jig to align the new strut to the boat's shaft log. There are four bolts on the bottom of the jig that allow angle movements to align (only one shows up in the picture). Once aligned, used the West System 105 epoxy as bedding for the strut.
When the boat was originally manufactured, Sea Ray used stainless washers on the top of the strut to shim to align, and I am was not a fan of using washers. So the epoxy made a firm bed than aligned the strut with the shaft log, and would not move when 5200 was applied.
IMG-6207.jpg
Looks great. Nice job getting that all together...
 
Below is a photo with the new strut bedded in 5200, prior to paint. As the bolts were snugged down it was raining 5200. The jig used to get the alignment right is in the background. Not elegant, but very effective.
IMG-6209.jpg
 
And here is the painted assembly. The repair patch from when the old prop hit the hull is now painted over as well. We opted to not paint the majority strut, but had to make a line to cover the 5200 and bolts. Zincs in place and ready to splash.
And yes, I did remove the one paint drip on the prop after I took this shot!
IMG-6219.jpg
 
And we splashed the boat last night. After so much work, it seems such a relief to see it back in the water. And the long run to the bay (the boat is at the end of a long no wake zone) took forever... Wondering if anything was missed, will there be a new vibration, will the propeller fling itself off the shaft?
Once in the bay, we opened it up slowly. Then stopped and re-check it all.

IMG-6222.jpg


No drama. No leaks. No vibration. The boat has never run so well! Smooth run with a big stupid grin on my face at 4000 rpm. We needed to put some hours on the boat before re-checking the alignment, so we ran from Tacoma to Gig Harbor, got beer and pizza and enjoyed the afternoon.
Thanks to FrankW to who was kind enough to take the time and respond to my questions about the process; I can't say enough about Frank. And thanks to TheBillCollector who also had sage advice and referred me to a solid mechanic and good all around guy.
 
And we splashed the boat last night. After so much work, it seems such a relief to see it back in the water. And the long run to the bay (the boat is at the end of a long no wake zone) took forever... Wondering if anything was missed, will there be a new vibration, will the propeller fling itself off the shaft?
Once in the bay, we opened it up slowly. Then stopped and re-check it all.

IMG-6222.jpg


No drama. No leaks. No vibration. The boat has never run so well! Smooth run with a big stupid grin on my face at 4000 rpm. We needed to put some hours on the boat before re-checking the alignment, so we ran from Tacoma to Gig Harbor, got beer and pizza and enjoyed the afternoon.
Thanks to FrankW to who was kind enough to take the time and respond to my questions about the process; I can't say enough about Frank. And thanks to TheBillCollector who also had sage advice and referred me to a solid mechanic and good all around guy.

I enjoyed reading your post and glad you got her all back together and running well but i guess you don't want to hear that your prop nuts are reversed. In post #23 you can see the correct orientation and i suppose that is the way the shaft was shipped from the manufacture.
 
I enjoyed reading your post and glad you got her all back together and running well but i guess you don't want to hear that your prop nuts are reversed. In post #23 you can see the correct orientation and i suppose that is the way the shaft was shipped from the manufacture.
So glad you noticed! I wondered if there was going to be a discussion on the topic of big nut or small nut against the prop. It was debated at length around my boat.
I would normally side with you, SAE, and Michigan wheel (who all agree that the small nut is first, then the large one with the age-old thought that the last tighten of the large nut transfers the load from the small to the large). That is the way I would go knowing nothing else.
The guy I was working with was pretty emphatic in the method I went with (big nut first small nut second). Max torque was applied to the large nut which lays against the prop. The small nut was used as a lock nut with slightly less pressure, meaning that the load never transferred to the small nut. This also keeps the nut carrying the load directly against the prop.
We know the prop is tapered, and the prop tightens on the taper with every shift. And we know the real moment to know which method is superior involves an incredible instantaneous amount of reverse thrust. I would expect to loose the transmission before this issue truly comes to play.
So, Mitch you are correct and I appreciate that you pointed it out. I looked into the issue prior to installation and agree with you from a technical standpoint. But I feel confident with the way I have it installed. And I'll cover my bet by having it checked regularly.
 
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So glad you noticed! I wondered if there was going to be a discussion on the topic of big nut or small nut against the prop. It was debated at length around my boat.
I would normally side with you, SAE, and Michigan wheel (who all agree that the small nut is first, then the large one with the age-old thought that the last tighten of the large nut transfers the load from the small to the large). That is the way I would go knowing nothing else.
The guy I was working with was pretty emphatic in the method I went with (big nut first small nut second). Max torque was applied to the large nut which lays against the prop. The small nut was used as a lock nut with slightly less pressure, meaning that the load never transferred to the small nut. This also keeps the nut carrying the load directly against the prop.
We know the prop is tapered, and the prop tightens on the taper with every shift. And we know the real moment to know which method is superior involves an incredible instantaneous amount of reverse thrust. I would expect to loose the transmission before this issue truly comes to play.
So, Mitch you are correct and I appreciate that you pointed it out. I looked into the issue prior to installation and agree with you from a technical standpoint. But I feel confident with the way I have it installed. And I'll cover my bet by having it checked regularly.

Hey np man. Gotta ask though, did you lap the prop to the shaft before hand?
 
Hey np man. Gotta ask though, did you lap the prop to the shaft before hand?
Yes; I remembered one of your older posts about that issue. We have a very good Prop Shop in Tacoma, and they lapped the new prop and shaft.
I also had them lap the existing 'good shaft' and existing 'good' propeller. I didn't want to leave anything to chance. The existing propeller needed correction, and when done both props also have the same uniform 'Sea Ray cup'.
 
Sucks this happened, but thank you for the post. Diagnosing a shaft issue on my boat now, looks like a bent shaft most likely.

No vibrations, etc, before any of this occurred?
 
It did indeed suck, but I learned more about my boat which I hope makes me a better owner. And I have peace of mind about the drive train now. Three days after I wrapped up all the work, we headed out for a 1 week 300 mile cruise in our San Juan Islands and it was great.

Yes there was a slight vibration. I will plead ignorance, since it was there when I bought the boat. I came from outdrives and did not know what to expect. In hindsight, I would have better off to have taken another owner of a similarly set up boat out for a spin to compare notes. Never trust surveyors and sales folks...

If you are fortunate, and for you it really is just the shaft, you can have a local shop that correct a bent shaft. Its a pretty easy fix.
Check the cutlass before you pull the shaft.
While the boat is out, you should check the struts for a bend condition (draw a horizontal line across the center line of the shaft opening; measure from one end of the line up to the opposite side edge of the flat plate of the strut. Then do the opposite side. These two lengths should be very close).
Also you should replace the lip of the shaft seal. $50 item and cheap insurance.
Consider how long ago the props were trued. To pull the shaft out and clear the rudder, the prop has to come off anyway. I would consider pulling both props and having the shop check both sides and both shafts. Will add a few more dollars, but won't add time.
And when you put the shaft(s) back in, you will need to realign the engine/tranny in steps. First one on land, and the second a few days after the boat is back in the water (hull geometry settles in the water). There are good videos on youtube about ski-boat alignment to the shafts and the process is the same for our boats.

Sorry for the long post. Hope this helps!
 

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