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Two cutlass bearings?

BJoslin

Member
I pulled my cutlass bearing today and much to my surprise two of them came out. Have any of you seen or heard of this? I’ve done a lot of reading on here and don’t recall seeing that. Am I missing something? Is there supposed to be one at both ends of the shaft log?

guess I should introduce myself also. I bought my 78 Morgan 382 (Betelgeuse) last November but have been lurking around this site for a bit longer after looking at another Morgan. Thank you to all the members here, there is so much great info.

Barry
 

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I would guess that a previous owner just jammed a new cutlass bearing in and pushed the old one further into the shaft log because he couldn't get get the old one out. There is no reason for two bearings.

Congratulations on being a Morgan owner.

Jim
 
Hey, Jim, speaking of bearings, I need to replace mine. Years ago a creative yard figured out how to replace it somehow, without dropping the rudder. The disconnected the shaft from the engine, moved it inside to to the side of the tranny and somehow got the old bearing out and the new one in. (they kept the new one in the deep freeze overnight, so it slipped in easier.) Have you or your yard ever done it this way? Dropping the rudder is a pain.
 
Terry

In the 32 years we've owned Dana, The cutlass bearing has been changed 3 times. Every time the rudder was dropped. One of those times was when the rudder was changed from the 382 model to the 384 model. The cutlass bearing was changed then even though it really didn't need to be. With two 1/2 ton chain falls from Harbor Freight and the boatyards permission to dig a hole, it wasn't too nasty a job. I can't see how the shaft can be moved into the boat past the tranny. I've heard of someone who has moved the whole engine forward out of the compartment to do the job but I think that would be more work then dropping the rudder. What do you think?

Jim
 
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This was my first time having the boat hauled out so I was relying heavily on some info I read in here regarding dropping the rudder in order to replace the cutlass bearing. I had the yard block the boat so the bottom of the rudder was about 24” off the ground. They used some 12” blocks under the keel and eyeballed the 24” for the rudder. Forgot to bring a tape measure. Got lucky and it was just perfect for removing the rudder. I didn’t use chain falls just a couple lines and had a friend help me drop it. Honestly the worst part of it all was removing the shaft coupling so I could slide the shaft out. Lots of PB Blaster, a puller, hammer, and lots of colorful words. Not sure how long it had been since the coupling was last removed.
 

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The taper where the coupling seats on the shaft is a good place to use anti seize. A lot easier removal for next time.
If it took some "whacking" to get the coupling loose you might want to take both to a marine oriented machine shop where they can true both surfaces to the centerline. (Commonly done on power boats) Not quite so important on a sailboat with a Drivesaver between the coupling faces. But if they're perfectly parallel, and you align them by adjusting the motor mounts/w/feeler gauges AND put the Drivesaver back in afterward....you shouldn't have to touch it for a decade. Oops, what about the shaft packing?
 
Thank you for the info Dave. I never would have thought about using anti seize. She’s back in the water now but I will definitely add that to the notes for next time I have it apart. I did take care to not hammer on the flange part of the coupling as I was worried about tweaking it. Due to time crunch I did not double check alignment but it is on my list to do still.
 
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