hey there, does anyone know a good source of cutlass bearings in Sydney?

got the boat on the slip today and there is nearly 2mm play in the cutlass bearing. apparently the bearing was replaced roughly 18 and 36 months ago, so i guess either the prop shaft is bent and/or the engine is out of alignment.

roughly how long should a cutlass bearing last if the prop shaft and alignment are good?

How long is a piece of string? The life of the bearing will depend on what material, whether the engine/gearbox is flexible mounted or solid, length of shaft, flex plate fitted etc. I would suggest Porters out at Parramatta. Take your shaft and prop out with you.

It is also going to depend on what size boat we are talking about, shaft size etc. 2mm is Ok on a large shaft but not so good on a 25mm shaft. Properly set up and the right clearance when wet on installation and kept away from sand you can expect several years. My fishing boat operated 20 days a month for sometimes 12 hours a day and I changed shaft bearings twice in 25 years.

sorry i should have provided more info. was a bit exhausted after an afternoon of hull scraping.

it's an Adams 31. 25mm shaft, with a flexible coupling. my understanding is that the cutlass bearing should last at least a few years if things are set up right. apparently it should be okay until our next haul out, that will give me time to source a bearing and build a puller for removing the old bearing and installing a new one.

another question: the shaft is also sitting quite low in the shaft log, and it looks like the log may have had some kind inner tube inside which had slid out onto the shaft between the shaft log and the anode. the material feels like a kind of ceramic, almost like a fine coral. does that make any sense? a lot to learn here!

the donk was replaced a few years ago and has adjustable mounts, so there's an afternoon of fun and games right there...

Photos equal a thousand words.

Can we see some please?

yep, too true. will post some tomorrow. was a busy dirty day so didn't have the phone out much.

got the primer on this afternoon. need to crash, another early start tomorrow...

If your on the slips now is the time to take accurate measurements. The shaft is probably one inch or it could be 25 mm, there is a big difference. Now is the time to make plans. Removing the bearing material is easy and you probably wont need a puller. Hack saw blade along the length should be enough and lever it out with a screw driver. You will have plenty of time before the next haul out to view Youtube videos to watch how it's done on your particular unit. I would suggest talking to Porters about what material to use.
I would also suggest taking the shaft to Porters and have them machine the bearing to suit the shaft with the correct clearance. The clearance required will depend on what bearing material you decide on. The bearing will have to turned down to suit the stern tube too so accurate measurements are required.

yep, the plan is to buy vernier calipers in between antifoul coats today and do accurate measurements...

measured it up today. the shaft is 1" and the OD of the cutlass bearing is 1.25".

when checking the drive train i also discovered that the flexible coupling is broken, so that is certainly not helping! i hopefully will be able to get a replacement in the morning and fit it before she goes back in the drink...

Buy your self some threaded rod from Bunnings for use as the puller . A pipe that is a bigger diameter than the cutlass bearing and washer slightly smaller the the O.D. of the old cutlass bearing.
Once the epoxy that is holding the cutlass bearing beaks away it comes out easy .

yep, that's the plan HG...