Hey gang, I was getting my cutlass bearing replaced and asked the company to take a look at my shaft seal and coupler plate. The shaft seal needs replacing and the coupler plate appears to be permanently attached to the shaft by their estimation. Their suggestion is to cut the shaft for removal, replace the shaft seal, have a new shaft made, B.O.A.T.

He's gonna do some price checking for me for a dripless seal and a new shaft. I'm pretty handy, but it seems like I could easily spend a day trying to free the shaft with no results. Perhaps now's not a bad time to get a brand new shaft and seal...



I've lost the art of adding an image to a post, but it's in that link.

Thanks,
Blaine

I Had the same problem and spoke to a friend who is an engineer and he removed the gearbox and used an puller to separate the coupling and prop shaft with a bit of heat.

Seems you may be embarking on a rather expensive endeavor if you choose to cut the shaft. As you know it's stainless steel and won't be cheap to replace
I'll start with the old cliché - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
What could be wrong with the shaft. Do you suspect it might be bent. Do you think you have an electrolysis problem between the propeller and the shaft
Aside from the above, there's not a whole lot that can go wrong with the shaft. It rides in a piece of rope at the stuffing box and a rubber/plastic bearing at the cutlass. It's doubtful the shaft is worn

My suggestion: disconnect the shaft from the engine at the coupling (mark it so you can bolt it back in the same rotation you took it apart).. Rotate the shaft by hand - if it rotates feely it probably isn't bent. Check the gap between the engine coupling and the shaft coupling. There shouldn't be more than a few thousands difference. Rotate the shaft - again the clearance should be within a few thousands as you rotate it. If there is a huge variation as you rotate the shaft, then the shaft is probably bent. If there is a difference in clearance but is the same as you rotate the shaft - you have an alignment problem between the engine and the shaft
Pull the prop. check the treads and check for electrolysis. If there is any electrolysis, it should be in the prop not the shaft When you are all done, replace the 4 coupling bolts with stainless steel bolts and SS nylock nuts

Oh I've got no problems with the shaft Russ, except that it needs to be removed so that we can replace the shaft seal.
Will find out shortly if it will budge at all, but it looks like that shaft wasn't even removed when the boat was repowered in 2006, so it doesn't look promising.

You should be able to replace the stuffing box seal (rope) from inside the boat with the shaft still in. Check out u-tube videos.
Some even claim you can replace the stuffing box seal with the boat in the water. Clean the treads and use some penetrating oil before attempting to back off the compression nut

If you want that shaft coupling off, first - if you can, separate it from the engine. For me, the coupler bolts were as much of a heart ache as getting the coupler off the shaft. Back out the two bolts that hold the coupler to the shaft. Again another fun task as the coupler is cast and the bolts are steel

Next go get some high end penetrating oil. (some buddies that own a machine shop gave me some. Don't know the brand but it was orange in color) Soak the coupler/shaft over night. Get something to insulate the shaft/coupler from the hull and then heat the f**k out of it with a propane torch. Get a 5 pound hammer and have at it - good luck

You could use a torch on the coupler to try and expand it, then a hammer. If that doesn't work, use an angle grinder to split the coupler. In any case, once all is apart, you have some cleanup to do. You may want to consider a new shaft side coupling anyway.

Another thing to try is unbolt from the transmission and slide shaft aft. Put socket smaller than shaft diameter in center, use longer fasteners on coupling and squeeze to see if it will push the shaft out.

I saw some pictures of his issue. His stern tube hose has signs of cracking along the edge of the hose clamps, so to replace that hose, the coupling flange really does need to come off.

The socket and 4 longer bolts trick is good as long as you don't have to put so much force that the flanges will distort. I saw a puller on youtube once which had something that looked like a 3/8" round plate with 4 holes in it, a socket (or similar) at the center of it which worked with two bars that each had two bolt hole (slots) and a half circle in the middle for the shaft to pass through. This allows the force to be applied to the aft end of the coupler instead of the flange. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find this video now.

Ask the mechanic if a dripless seal can be installed without removing the coupler plate. These seals can sometimes be installed over the existing shaft and coupler assembly, eliminating the need to replace the shaft altogether. While replacing the shaft seal with a dripless seal might seem doable, properly installing a dripless seal often requires specialized tools and knowledge. Assess your comfort level and the tools you have available before attempting this yourself.