Strut removal 3988-gctid820849

[yoeman]

I'M Guessing I will get mocked for this but here I go.

Why can't I remove the struts on my 3988 leaving the shafts and logs in place.

Undo them with support on the shaft and slid the strut off the end pass the rudder.

Has this been done?

I don't want to spend hours on the log then damage the driplesd seal

[higgins_jr]

Yeoman, I think you'd end up removing the shaft as difficulties emerge. If you've ever seen or removed a cutlass bearing, there's a lot of "whacking" with hammers, so a strut isn't just going to slide off the shaft, not to mention putting it back on. I'd imagine you could easily damage your dripless seals that you're trying to save.

If you're not doing it yourself, ask the boatyard whether that is viable. I would bet, they'd suggest you do the job yourself.. For the sake of undoing the dripless shaft rings etc and disconnecting the shaft, it's not a large deal to put them back in place.

Let us know how you go. Cheers

[smitty477]

"yoeman" post=820849 wrote:
I'M Guessing I will get mocked for this but here I go.

Why can't I remove the struts on my 3988 leaving the shafts and logs in place.

Undo them with support on the shaft and slid the strut off the end pass the rudder.

Has this been done?

I don't want to spend hours on the log then damage the driplesd seal

OK- I have doe this but without dripless shaft seals, we had packing glands both times.

- support on the shaft must be well in place at all times.

- on our 4788 we drifted out the 6 strut bolts first.

- then we broke the sealing free with a combination of thin putty knives and a thin wire slid under the strut base (wire was shark leader)

- after the strut was straightened we placed it back and carefully added temporary shims while checking shaft alignment (each time tightening bolts)

- once we had good alignment we measured the temp shims and cut permanent spacers for strut bedding.

- then set the strut in sealing compound permanently with the spacer(s)

Final alignment took very little changes - shaft must be supported well at all times so it does not get an opportunity to bend.

Hope this helps

[yoeman]

My boat has driplesd so I'm guessing the concern is breaking them.

I would take the shafts off but they are such a pain to get the coupler off.

Still can't find struts so it may be a while

[smitty477]

"yoeman" post=820876 wrote:
My boat has driplesd so I'm guessing the concern is breaking them.

I would take the shafts off but they are such a pain to get the coupler off.

Still can't find struts so it may be a while

I have removed dripless on past boats and installed typical packing glands in their place.

If you feel the dripless are that delicate I would suggest you consider the same trade out.

[Pcpete]

Think of it as an opportunity to service the drip less seals. The hose, I understand, needs to be changed every few years anyway.

[yachtman]

I have done it on my 3988 that way. I left the shaft in. To remove the strut i used a plumbers torch to slightly heat the sealant. The strut then came off fairly easy.

Mine was the port side and i had to remove the rudder also to get the strut off.