I used a sawzall and cut the cutlass bearing from the inside. I had to cut through the cutlass bearing twice, then peel the section inbetween out. What makes it harder is that the strut has a shoulder at the bottom, and to cut the cutlass bearing completely through, you have to cut the shoulder of the strut too.

I managed to get mine out without cutting the cutlass completely.

Rodd
There should be no need to cut anything to remove the cutless bearing. After removing the retaining screw on each side, you push it out with a press. You can make a press using a long piece of threaded rod, a piece of pipe, and a couple of large washers. As you tighten the nut, it pushes the bearing into the pipe.

I think you’re supposed to grease the outside of the new bearing when you put it back in. Ask your local prop-shop if this is correct. The helps in disassembly the next time you do this.

The cutless bearing should last several years. Depending on how many hours you run your engine, you should probably get ten or more years, but they do wear out. Alignment should not be an issue given the limited adjustment available on the v-drive mounts. An improperly aligned or bent shaft will accelerate wear.

—
Rich Carter

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Post generated from Pearson424 Forum using Mail2Forum

I have heard that if the boat is used heavily in
shallow and sandy waters – Bahamas…. then the
bearings wear out sooner.
Also, be sure you check the wear on the shaft. Mine
was worn so much that even with a new bearing there
would have still have been play in it.
I ended up replacing the shaft. Orginal shaft was
bronze.
alan

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Rich,

Unfortunately, you can’t use a press on all 424 cutlass bearings. The bearing chamber (or shaft tube) in my boat’s strut wraps around and closes at its forward end like a blunt, hollow-point bullet, leaving only enough of a hole for the shaft to pass through. So you can’t get anything like a washer up against the forward end of the bearing to pull it out. I ultimately had to cut a lengthwise wedge out of the old bearing with a sawzall to loosen it enough so I could tap it out of there. This necessarily left cuts in the chamber’s forward enclosure, but it doesn’t matter. They can be used to guide the sawzall blade next time the old cutlass bearing refuses to budge. In fact, next time I may just slice the forward end off the chamber, making it an open tube that would allow the use of a press.

One little trick I learned from the yard manager here. When I installed the new cutlass bearing, I left about an inch of it sticking out of the rear end of the chamber, enough to grab with a pipe wrench so that I might be able to work it out next time. This also left an inch of space at the bearing’s forward end, so I can at least get a punch up against it through the shaft hole. Hope I don’t have to mess with it for another 10 years, though.

Tor

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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us

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I tried the home made press apprach, but could not find/make a washer that would hold up to the forces involved in removing my decades-old bearing. The shoulder in the strut left very little of the bonze sleeve of the cutlass bearing exposed, so I was not able to get a “bite” on the bearing.

I don’t know why they put a shoulder in that strut at all…the set screws are there to keep it in place. But I suppose if the bearing walked out of the back the prop would keep it from coming out completely, but if it walked forward, you would only have a zinc to keep it from coming out.

I was able to press the new one in with the threaded rod.

I was just about to write exactly what Tor wrote,
so I 2nd it.
Be careful when you put the new bearing in that you
have removed ALL… and I do mean ALL marks made by
saw. One little bump and you’ll get the bearing about
2/3’s of the way in and it will get stuck. You will
then need to saw the new bearing out… and start
over…. on 2nd thought, just buy 2 bearings the first
time and save yourself the headache of having to wait
for the 2nd one to arrive….
How do I know this?
alan

— Silver Heels <> wrote: