How to replace a typical Ski Boat Strut Bearing (aka Cutlass Bearing)
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- Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
- The video shows a typical replacement, some are more stubborn, others are easier. You may not need to use a press tool as shown, sometimes freezing alone will work. NEVER beat them in with a hammer.
Parts used in the video please visit: SkiBoatPartsOnline.com
1" Strut Bearings www.skiboatpartsonline.com/ind...
Strut Press Tool: www.skiboatpartsonline.com/ind...
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Great video, straight to the point and excellent advice. So many "youtubers" are some guy who's never done it before who babbles on for a half hour about his dog and his channel and stops to talk about every distraction to fill time, sprinkled with loud music and slow-motion shots of him opening a box. We need more creators like you!
Thanks we do our best...
i just bought mu first direct drive boat after years of owning and repairing i/o. your vids are great! thanks. you have given me the confidence to service my boat (1988 malibu sunsetter)
I followed the instructions from your video and it worked perfectly, from removal to install. Thank you very much for the advice and parts.
What a great video with a nice clear description. You made it look so easy. I now feel like I could try this myself. Thank you
Awesome video, it made it way easier to understand the process of changing the bearings.
Nice! I need to check mine, will use your method. In the middle of a complete restoration on a 86 ski nautique. New stringers and well pretty much everything:) Been watching your resorting a rare bird series for pointers. Thanks for the great videos! It is much appreciated! Ordering fiberglass supplies from you soon.
Thank you. Excellent simple method with inexpensive materials.
Awesome video. In ak we use dish soap to lubricate the new bearing prior to install. Also, it might be the style, but normally we have a locking set screw over the main. Thanks for the video.
thanks for these videos, handy to know if you are away on a trip and something goes wrong, thats where things usually do
Great how to video Ron. Going to replace the bearings on my 97 Volante this week. Hope to reduce the vibration. Randy
Be sure to aligne the shaft to the engine, this is a big MUS after changing the strut bearings
Very clear and well done. Congrats!!! Nicolas
Great video, thanks for the tips
Very nicely done. The best method!
Fantastic video. Thank you:)
Good video. Easy to follow. Thanks
Nice video!! I think I need to do mine.
Awesome video Very direct into the point . Question how can we identify what size bearing we need
Great Video Ron is there way to tell if a strut is bent?
Great tips! Thank you!
can you show a video of a propellar drive shaft replacement
Hey Ron,
Your videos have been a lifesaver for working on my boat. What are some of the signs you are looking for that either the bearings need replaced or engine needs adjusted to shaft?
Thank you for your content!
another great video thanx
Ron Tanis. Great videos
Great video thanks a lot I will be doing this soon
Ron, should I worry if the old bearings came out with a slight tug and and the new ones slide right in with a very slight push? No tools or cutting required. Additionally I am replacing a bent shaft and recently realigned strut. Is it possible the bent shaft widened the strut hole? Bearings were worn but could still see all the gooves.
Thank you VERY helpful
Bravo, très ingénieux, J'adopte vôtre méthode.
Vous êtes le bienvenu
Thank you for being quick and precise!!
Great Video Thank You
The head on the set screws on my 84 ski nautique are stripped out such that the allen wrench will not engage in the screw head. I am probably going to have to drill out the allemn screw, retap he hole, and put new screws in. What are the set screw size?
Still very helpful. Thanks.
Good tricks 👍
i need a how to video on how to remove the velvet drive and replace with the zf 45c !
is it fine to use that saw since you could probably cut beyond that bearing? or it's just fine as long as it's just a small over cut?
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.
Hey Ron, great video as always. I have a bent strut on my 04 Malibu about 15-20 degrees, do you think it's possible to heat and straighten it back?
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.
so cool Boss
how to know if it needs changing?
my boat is 12 years old but only has 280hrs. now at very low rpm around 1200 i have a little vibration could that be the cause? thanks in advance loved the video!!
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.
where can you order strut bearing and that shaft for a 2006 malibu wakesetter vlx?
skiboatpartsonline.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=strut%20bearing
Hi Ron, great video & tutorial :)
After following your tutorial we changed the 2 strut bearings on our mastercraft prostar from 1987. The install process went fine and on our first testrun on the water went well. At the end of the day we noticed a screech, squeel sound coming from the bearings when lifting the throttel and going to neutral. Do you maybe have an Idea what could be the issue here? Thanks in advance :)
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
Maritex supply bearings of any length, so 7" is no problem. That way you get a more rigid drive than if you use only 4" of support. They also make theirs a clearance fit so you slide them in by hand on a bed of epoxy which is a bit easier and quicker.
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.
Got a good BEARING advice...
now let's work on HEADING?
Great video....what are your thoughts, my 84 M/C does not have the set screws, is it worth adding them?
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!
this this, it was helpfull
I bought this tool to install my bearings but I have a freezer in my shop and kept them in there and basically just pushed them in by hand but you need to be quick.
Lately I am running about 90% tight fitting bearings even when chilled, about the 10th one will slide in like you described.
Thank you
Do you have a rope seal video? Great video btw
ua-cam.com/video/gPhVuEcuiKw/v-deo.html
How about showing how to replacing the shaft seal that keeps water out of the boat??
Do you replace the set screws or just reuse? Fresh water, if that matters.
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.
Do you have a video on how to replace a strut on a v drive ski boat?
Sorry, we don't, but it is similar to the direct drive ski boats
I have a Mastercraft ski boat and I purchased a cutlass bearing it is 1 1/8 x 1 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches in length, should I cut it in half and go fore and aft or can I just put in in on the aft side or should I get another bearing ?
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.
Sorry, would u please explain why should u need to cut the old cutlass bearing before remove it out??
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.
can i fix my rudder in the water on a owens 2i ft commadore
simple answer - no - 21' boat should be hauled for this
Nice...
Why did you cut the bearing in half before installing it? Very unusual install. Normally you just install the bearing in one piece.
+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.
Can the same technique be used on a single piece bearing?
YES
How do you know when the bearings need replaced?
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.
Yea tried that method and no way it just "taps" out.... Had to make a couple cuts and remove a sliver, then POUND it out, also our bearing was one piece 4 1/2" long
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
Since the faces of the head of that threaded bolt and the nut are at a right angle to the axis of the bolt, then one could have inserted those two bearings at the same time.
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.
You pulled the shaft for those
Small thin shelled bearings don't work with expensive hydraulic pullers.
i need help how do i take the rudder off
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.
fine thread not necessary, and course thread would be much faster.
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.
aka not the cutlass bearing
Man a sawzaw on a strut???!!
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...
Thank you