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Prop problems 86 90 hp mairiner

J

jeff

Contributing Member
" the other day my boat managa

" the other day my boat managaged to mangle itself out of its mooring . (the 3/4 inch galvanized chain snapped) and it washed itself up on the beach . well it took about a 3/4 inch chunk off the bottom of one of the blades . now i know the horror stories about running an unbalanced propeller .

i have no quams about buying a new prop and replacing it . only problem is , if you have dealt with older mercury's that have never had the prop removed , it is damn near impossible to get off . the previous owner of the boat already told me that he couldnt get it off with a torch , so i dont think im going to waste my time with throwing heat on it .

ive heard that it will have to be cut off . are there ANY alternatives ??? i have to get the prop off while the boat is in the water . ill only be in knee deep water , but still .

and if it does have to be cut off , what tool/way to cut it would be best ?

thanks in advance . "
 
"Jeff,

First take a hacksaw

"Jeff,

First take a hacksaw and remove the prop from the rubber bushing/hub. This part is easy. Don't saw through the bushing, but just at the edge of it. A few blows with a hammer and chisel will remove the prop from the hub once you have sawn far enough. Take a sharp blade and cut the rubber bushing off. This part is easy also.

Now you will be left with the splined sleeve that is frozen on the prop shaft. You don't wan't to damage the prop shaft, so this is where you have to be careful. Sometimes, after removing the prop and bushing, you can get the sleeve off with a little heat, because now you can apply the heat directly to the sleeve. Of course if you use a lot of heat there is the danger of burning the prop shaft seals, so you have to make sure this does not happen. A towel soaked in cold water, wrapped around the shaft and bearing carrier, will allow you to use quite a bit of heat without burning the seals.

Another way to get the sleeve off is to use a die grinder or dremel tool with a cutting wheel attatched. You have to cut a groove in the sleeve. It doesn't have to cut completely through the sleeve. Once you cut this groove, a few careful blows with a hammer and chisel wil split the sleeve without damaging the prop shaft.

You can use a hacksaw to do this also, but it is difficult to prevent damage to the shaft when you use a hacksaw for this part.

Tony"
 
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