Logo
FULL SITE MENU

questions about running with slightly bend prop

4

4motion

Member
Ok, I was in shallow unknown water and caught up on rocks and slightly bent 2 blades on my prop ( stainless) maybe about 1/2 inch along the sides of the blades. And slightly curved the bottom fin. Would there be any vibrations to the motor if I take it out in water again?

Should I just put in new prop?

Are there any advice on how to resurface the blade and unbent the aluminum fin? Please help and I appreciate your help.
 
do not take it back out! if your skeg is bent theres a good chance your prop shaft is bent also and if so im sure will not be good for your gears,driveshaft etc..... if your skeg(fin) is bent fixing it will probaly do more damage. everything in the lower unit is precisely machined( so a guy tells me....lol) and if anything is out of wack you have a problem, as for your prop get a new one, dont take much to have your motor shaking from a bent blade...
 
shawnfish said:
do not take it back out! if your skeg is bent theres a good chance your prop shaft is bent also and if so im sure will not be good for your gears,driveshaft etc..... if your skeg(fin) is bent fixing it will probaly do more damage. everything in the lower unit is precisely machined( so a guy tells me....lol) and if anything is out of wack you have a problem, as for your prop get a new one, dont take much to have your motor shaking from a bent blade...
Click to expand...

So what should I do about the skeg? Will it cause any performance issues even if I put in new prop? After I saw the blades bent I still went fast on water because I didn't realize that the skeg was bent too until the boat was out of the water.
 
if your skeg is bent theres a good chance you have damaged lower unit parts...gears,shaft,bearings etc....

what kind of motor is it? either way i would pull it apart and or have someone look at it to make sure there is no damage.

all them parts in there have to be aligned just right for them to work the way they are suppose to and if not you will end up destroying your lower unit. a new prop will make no difference if the lower is damaged.
 
shawnfish said:
if your skeg is bent theres a good chance you have damaged lower unit parts...gears,shaft,bearings etc....

what kind of motor is it? either way i would pull it apart and or have someone look at it to make sure there is no damage.

all them parts in there have to be aligned just right for them to work the way they are suppose to and if not you will end up destroying your lower unit. a new prop will make no difference if the lower is damaged.
Click to expand...

Thank you shawn
 
You can straighten the skeg, I've done it on a few outboards. Bear with me now, what you're going to need is a C-clamp and two 2X4''s preferably 4 to 6 ft. long. Tilt motor up as far as it will go, clamp the boards on either sides of the fin. the 2x4's need to be inline with motor length wise. Hold both boards and slowly and carefuly bounce them so to speak to straighten the fin. You will snap it off if you go too far. This will only work on a large motor say 100 hp or better because of the larger/longer skeg.
 
Use a dial indicator to check for a bent prop shaft.-------If shaft is not bent then fix / replace prop.-----------Skeg can be straightened.-------------------If shaft is bent have it staightened or replaced.
 
racerone said:
Use a dial indicator to check for a bent prop shaft.-------If shaft is not bent then fix / replace prop.-----------Skeg can be straightened.-------------------If shaft is bent have it staightened or replaced.
Click to expand...

racerone- so the skeg can straightened like how Charger25 said above?

Charger25- my motor is a 120 Johnson...and the fin is long.

Thanks everyone..
 
4motion said:
racerone- so the skeg can straightened like how Charger25 said above?

Charger25- my motor is a 120 Johnson...and the fin is long.

Thanks everyone..
Click to expand...

post pic's of your lower from both sides and from behind so it will show how much it is bent... how fast were you going when you hit something?
 
will post up pic later..not sure how to. but when I hit rock, i was very slow almost stop and when i see my depth finder reading 1 to 2 fow, I tried tilting the motor up and accidently forward the throttle a bit when it hit...not much though.
 
Charger25 said:
You can straighten the skeg, I've done it on a few outboards. Bear with me now, what you're going to need is a C-clamp and two 2X4''s preferably 4 to 6 ft. long. Tilt motor up as far as it will go, clamp the boards on either sides of the fin. the 2x4's need to be inline with motor length wise. Hold both boards and slowly and carefuly bounce them so to speak to straighten the fin. You will snap it off if you go too far. This will only work on a large motor say 100 hp or better because of the larger/longer skeg.
Click to expand...

Charger25: If do it your way..i mean it makes sense but where would I place the C-Clamp along the 2x4s...near the fin?
 
i beleive he meant to c clamp right on the skeg, with the boards in between the clamp and skeg. but dont quote me on it. if i were you though id take it somewhere to try and be fixed., aluminum is a very soft metal and like he said too much force and you could snap it off.
is it bent to the side, like being twisted? you should throw up a pic.....
 
shawnfish said:
i beleive he meant to c clamp right on the skeg, with the boards in between the clamp and skeg. but dont quote me on it. if i were you though id take it somewhere to try and be fixed., aluminum is a very soft metal and like he said too much force and you could snap it off.
is it bent to the side, like being twisted? you should throw up a pic.....
Click to expand...

Shawn: it is bent slightly to the left but not twisted. I will post pic after my cam battery is charged.

Another thing is before this happened, I was on a another lake and was in deep water too but someone left a cut up anchor line below surface with just the handle of the anchor and rope...it got twisted between the skeg and prop and motor was steaming through the blow hole..also the lower unit was hot. Do you think it could damage anything inside?
 
4motion said:
shawn: It is bent slightly to the left but not twisted. I will post pic after my cam battery is charged.

Another thing is before this happened, i was on a another lake and was in deep water too but someone left a cut up anchor line below surface with just the handle of the anchor and rope...it got twisted between the skeg and prop and motor was steaming through the blow hole..also the lower unit was hot. Do you think it could damage anything inside?
Click to expand...

you need to get the lower off and have it checked or you check it, steam is not a good sign, im almost 100% sure from your description that your lower was damaged. Dont even woory about the skeg until you make sure everything is in working order....
 
shawnfish said:
i beleive he meant to c clamp right on the skeg, with the boards in between the clamp and skeg. but dont quote me on it. if i were you though id take it somewhere to try and be fixed., aluminum is a very soft metal and like he said too much force and you could snap it off.
is it bent to the side, like being twisted? you should throw up a pic.....
Click to expand...

Yes thats what I meant.

4motion said:
Shawn: it is bent slightly to the left but not twisted. I will post pic after my cam battery is charged.

Another thing is before this happened, I was on a another lake and was in deep water too but someone left a cut up anchor line below surface with just the handle of the anchor and rope...it got twisted between the skeg and prop and motor was steaming through the blow hole..also the lower unit was hot. Do you think it could damage anything inside?
Click to expand...

I agree, if this has happened you really should take it to a shop.
 
thanks for the advices. I do want to take it to the shop...but you know people may be charging $ or bs on many things I don't know about at the shop. I hope they are honest and professional about it.
 
4motion said:
thanks for the advices. I do want to take it to the shop...but you know people may be charging $ or bs on many things i don't know about at the shop. I hope they are honest and professional about it.
Click to expand...

try and talk to someone who has took there motor to where you are going to and se what they thought, and 9 out of ten time if its been there a long time they are honest and do good work. Good luck man and let us know when ya get it figured out.
 
Also, Im wondering at how much it would cost for the shop to look at the lower unit...either they take off the lower unit and inspect it. I just want to have a general idea so I won't feel getting ripped off.
 
4motion said:
also, im wondering at how much it would cost for the shop to look at the lower unit...either they take off the lower unit and inspect it. I just want to have a general idea so i won't feel getting ripped off.
Click to expand...

not real sure, they have a set amount of time for every service they do, like a mechanic at a dealership. If you want to know the time amount they should charge you for i know where to find out, pm me and i'll tell ya how to find out.
 
Back
Top