27 cutlass bearing replacement?

[wes]

Anybody replaced the cutlass bearing on a 27? Mine is circa 1988 and pretty wobbly. Looks like that metal bracket on the exterior where the prop shaft exits the hull ("shaft log"?) has two bolts that can be removed, and presumably this would allow the cutlass bearing to be replaced. But wow, how do you get to the mating nuts on the inside of the hull? I can see the top one above the prop shaft, but the bottom one appears to be completely hidden below. Maybe a very long socket extension could reach down there (blind) and hold the nut while the bolt is removed from outside.

Or do you leave the shaft log in place, and slide out the cutlass bearing? Looks like there are a couple of setscrews that might make this possible, but with 25 years of immersion I'd be amazed if the bearing comes out easily.

Is there an easier way? Inquiring minds need to know.

Wes

[bob lamb]

   Mine's not a 27, but a 23d.  Same principle I'm sure.  I simply pulled the prop off using a special tool for doing so.  Then loosened the two set screws on the side of the bearing, got ahold of it (about a 1/4" of it) with visegrips and tapped it out and off the shaft.  I did have to do some fiberglass reinforcement on the shaft housing area because I let the cutless wobble too long before replacing it.  So far, so good...it's been about a year now.  Google will yeild a wealth of info on the job.


Bob

[Nicolina]

Interesting topic, touches on of the weaker spots of the CP 27. On my boat, several years ago, the screws were a bit loose and a boatyard applied epoxy (or something), basically glueing the thing in place, because they could not reach the inside nut. Now, changing the bearing (which I will have to do soon) requires drilling it all out, right?

[wes]

I'm planning to get a long (20") socket driver extension and see if I can get to that lower inside nut, below the prop shaft. The upper one is easy to reach. Wish me luck; I'll report back.

Wes

[MacGyver]

Nicolina, heat will be your friend.

Epoxy hates it.
Mac

[Nicolina]

Thanks, Mac, that will be helpful. I still don't expect this to be an easy undertaking and look forward to Wes' report!

[Allure2sail]

Wes:
I went through this awhile back.....here is what I went through. The bottom bolt on my boat  just spun when I tried to tighten it from the outside. I suspected no nut on the inside. I'll try to shorten this story LOL !!!!
1: 1/4" extension worked best (more wiggle room) I think I used two 12" ones got mine from Harbor Freight tool.
2: Deep socket works best (you do not know how long the bolt is down there.
3. BIGEST PROBLEM !!!! the channel for the shaft log becomes a catch basin for anything dropped in that area and ends up at the back end of the channel stopping me from getting the socket on the nut. I did not realize this until I looked back there with a camera that had with a flexable shaft on it (once again Harbor Freight tools).
4. Take a coat hanger and open it up and put a 90 degree bend in it at the end, about 3/8 to a 1/2 inch long. Slide it down the bottom of the channel and see if you can drag the clutter back there out to where you can remove it. I did not realize how much junk was back there until I looked down there with the camera. Hopefully with all the clutter dragged out you can get the socket on it and unscrew the bolt.
NOW FOR WHAT I ENDED UP DOING !!!!
This was after messing with this for weeks. I took a 1/4" die grinder and ground the head off of the lower bolt. Then I knocked it through with a punch. Fished out the body of the bolt and nut with the coat hanger. To put a new nut and washer back in I did this:
Super glued the washer to the face of the nut, glued the nut into the socket so it doesn't fall out of the socket as you slide it down the channel. Now it becomes a two person operation. Once the washer and nut is up against the back inner wall of the channel have some on the outside look for the nuts theads as you kind of wiggle it around. Once he can see the threads have him slide a Phillips screw driver into the threads of   the nut to center it to the clearance hole. You have to keep the nut and washer pushed up against the inner wall to hold it in position until he can get the bolt started into the threads. the super glue will usually break free when you tighten up the bolt,  wiggle the socket clockwise and counterclockwise (just don't go nuts with the glue). The top nut and bolt is easy because you can see them and get at them. I know this is a painfull process but here are a few things didn't work well......
Two extensions (could not find one long enough to make it back there) have a tendency to wiggel to much as your trying to get them in position to get it the socket onto the nut. Perhaps you could tack weld them together. I could not get the socket on the nut even after dragging out all the junk back there. You can break the bond of the super glue by putting some pressure in one direction and have the person on the outside pressure it the opposite direction.
I hope all this helps...this is not a very good design (I'm a retired mechanical designer). Perhaps an inner retainer plate with two threaded holes that slipped over the shaft log and was trapped in the channel when installed would have worked better. It had been posted earlier that someone went through this and found the threads om the lower bolt eaten away and would not thighten like mine (he felt it was from electrical corrosion), do a search, I'm sure it will turn up.

[wes]

Wow, that is incredibly helpful. Lowe's has a Kobalt socket extender that's 20" long, so I think I'll try that one and use your system. After you got both bolts off, what next? Does the cutlass bearing slide right off along with the exterior shaft log bracket? Or do you have to somehow drive the cutlass bearing out of the inside of the shaft tube?

I looked on Youtube last night for "cutlass bearing" and found some pretty amusing videos, but none that really addressed my situation.

Wes

[Allure2sail]

I was a bit lucky that the cutlass bearing was good.....my problem was I could not tighten up the plate so I always had a leak into the shaft log channel.
Bruce

[Allure2sail]

Wes:
I should be calling it the trough but I don't know how to spell it LOL !!! I don't think that is correct either.

[Allure2sail]

Wes:
I think I used two 1/4" extensions because I could not get one in that was 20" long in one shot...forgot what stopped me. I had to use a universal on the end for the ratchet to tighten it.
Bruce

[Allure2sail]

Wes:
Once you get the retainer plate off and take out the two set screws you should be able to press out the cutlass bearing. You know the more I think about the shaft log it must have a flange on the end with two clearance holes. I'm going to cut open the skeg on the parts boat and see how it's made...now I'm curious !!!! Has any one had the shaft log out? What does the end look like? Someone just did an engine swap to a 3 cylinder. I think he had to shorten the prop shaft. I bet he knows !!!

[Allure2sail]

Interesting topic, touches on of the weaker spots of the CP 27. On my boat, several years ago, the screws were a bit loose and a boatyard applied epoxy (or something), basically glueing the thing in place, because they could not reach the inside nut. Now, changing the bearing (which I will have to do soon) requires drilling it all out, right?

Did they epoxy the plate to the skeg or the cutlass bearing in the tube. Were the set screws loose or the flange bolts?

[Nicolina]

I don't know exactly. The boat was in teh yard for other work, but they noticed the bolt was loose, they could not tighten it and epoxied it. By the time they told me the boat was in teh water, but they showed me on another boat - not resembling the Compac vey much - what they did. So my understanding is that they epoxied the the screw to the plate to the skeg. I'll find out ...

[Allure2sail]

Hi
I bet it was the lower bolt on the plate, seems that is the most common problem. I don't remember if the threads on the one that would not tighten up on my boat  were corroded away. This weekend I will cut open the skeg on the junk boat and see hoe all that's inside there. Now that my curiosity is up.
Bruce