Thanks we do our best...

Be sure to aligne the shaft to the engine, this is a big MUS after changing the strut bearings

Vous êtes le bienvenu

Lately I am running about 90% tight fitting bearings even when chilled, about the 10th one will slide in like you described.

Doubt this is the cause of the vibration, this is usually from miss-alignment, dinged prop, bent shaft, but they will cause a bearing to wear much faster. A really bad bearing can be detected by trying to move the prop shaft up/down/ right/left, if there is any play its worn. The best way is to dis-connect the shaft from the trans and do the same test again, if play is present it is worn.

skiboatpartsonline.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=strut%20bearing

I ALWAYS instruct to cut "UP" never down, if you cut down and go through the bearing shell and into the thin strut casting you will weaken the strut, but by cutting "up" you will typically go through the bearing shell and into the strutt just a little which is ok as you cutting into the "meat" of the strutt casting.

After building 2500+ ski boats I found that having the gap between the bearings helps cooling and the bearings last longer. Personally i would never epoxy a bearing into the strut, this system we use is a very proven way to use strut bearings in ski boats.

Epoxy for Maritex has been used for over 25 years now, for everything from race boats with 12,000rpm shafts to superyachts, the great thing with epoxy is it softens with heat which makes removal easy. Maritex has also shown a lot less wear than rubber bearings, roughly 3 times the life on a pilot boat that had run Duramax.

If the entire "barrel" of the strut is "folded over" then no, replace it, if the strut has a "twist" and the shaft is now wanting to point to the right or left of the shaft log opening then yes we have had very good luck twisting these back. I only do them cold, use an old shaft, remove the rudder, chock the trailer wheels, and use the scrap shaft as a long crow bar to twist the strut. Do not remove the strut from the boat. Replace the strut bearings when straightened....Good Luck

@@rontanis1024 Thanks again, I'll try this approach.

simple answer - no - 21' boat should be hauled for this

Sorry, we don't, but it is similar to the direct drive ski boats

Most but not all bearings are pressed in, and small thin wall bearings like used in ski boats it is faster and easier to simply cut them & they will pop right out.

Then your bearings are press-fit, and the set screws are not needed unless you have spun a bearing and the strut bore is now oversize

@@rontanis1024 thank you!

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nbaYidh2yNvNe6s.html

YES

When any play can be felt when lifting the shaft up/dn at the prop end when the coupling bolts are loose. If you do this and feel play when the coupling bolts are tight they are really bad.

Did the bearings press in or simply slide in without any resistance? Loose bearings will spin inside the strut barrel and squeel. Did you align the engine to the shaft??

@@rontanis1024 Hey Ron, thanks for the quick reply:) The bearings had to be pressed in and do not seem to be loose. We noticed that the alignment of our strut barrel is a little bit off center and therefore had some trouble aligning everything. We will try to loosen the strut barrel and realign it, hopefully that will solve the issue :)

@@thefailxtreme Loosening the strut is normally a mistake, it the barrel is twisted It can be twisted back.

@@rontanis1024 sorry for the late reply, in the end we got it to work and have no vibrations anymore! thank you

I re-use if in good condition

@@rontanis1024 Mine came right out with a bit of PB blaster, so they seem to be in pretty good condition. Any reason to use anti seize or even loctite?

@@TalkinTech Strut bearing fit varies from strut to strut, some come out & go in easy, others are difficult, most are pretty tight & no matter how much PB Blaster you use they won't budge. I am more concerned with loose fitting bearings (they have spun at some time) that takes a different approach to repair.

You want support at both ends of the strut barrel, either cut your or buy our pre-cut bearings.

@@rontanis1024 Thanks!!!! what about using two 4 1/12 inch bearings, I will check out your site.

+Pierre Mitham Most Ski Boats have a strut barrel that is 5-7" long, typical bearings are 4" long. OEM strut manufacturers will install a 4" bearing cut into (2) 2" long bearings installed in the front and rear of the barrel with a gap in the middle. (All of my videos are designed for the typical direct drive tournament ski boats) This is not common in work boats.

Yes that is true, but with only 2 hands I do 1 at a time, and depending on the strut barrel length, the added 2" or 3" on each end for the new bearings would be longer than the 12" tool.

I run into the same thing often, if I look closely at my cut the reason it won't tap out is because the cut isn't all the way through the bearing shell, then I cut a little deeper, and when and only when the entire bearing shell length is cut through will the bearing tap out. I also use a brand new blade when i do these.

SkiBoatPartsOnline thanks for the reply, and you were 100% correct on the reason. After looking closely we found that we had not cut all the way thru at the center, once we got it cut correctly, it tapped out! Thanks

basics: disconnect steering cable from tiller arm, remove tiller arm from rudder post, rudder post will fall out the bottom, be prepared to catch or support, it it comes out very hard your rudder post may be bent.

Small thin shelled bearings don't work with expensive hydraulic pullers.

Our original tool was std thread, but we then found some really stubborn bearings that our impact would not turn the std thread but would turn the fine thread, therefore we mfg. these in the more expensive fine thread material.

Works every time, I average (2) jobs per blade, a dull blade makes this a tough job.

Thought the same thing....but the brass strut is much harder than the bronze bushing....i didn't even cut all the way thru the bushing and was able to pound them out fairly easy.....make sure to freeze the new bearings prior to assembly, they go in much easier...