Re: Prop removal ideas
Posted: 11 Feb 2012, 19:52
Another way to do it is to pull the propshaft out and use a piece of heavy tube which is a comfortable fit over the propshaft and about a meter long. Loosen the prop nut off and leave it so that it protects the propshaft thread and the end of the propshaft, using a piece of hardwood on the ground put the propshaft propellor end down on the hardwood and use the heavy tube as a slide hammer to knock the prop off. Its a lot more accurate than using hammers and wont damage the blades of the prop or the propshaft. Just make sure that the ends the of tube are machined with a nice flat end so that they contact the back of the prop hub evenly.
This eliminates the need for fancy pullers and the fact that they generally dont hang onto the hub of a prop that well anyway. Trust me when you use a puller it will let go a couple of times before it actually pulls the prop off, it does let go with some force. Also when you use a puller and it eventually does pull the prop off it comes off like a bullet and will hit you in the guts because you are behind it winding the puller nut with a spanner. So if you persist with a puller leave the propshaft nut on the shaft after you loosen it.
Just one more thing when you put any prop onto a propshaft and run the boat. For the first couple of days out on the water always check that the propshaft nut is properly tightened at the end of the day. I use nyloc propshaft nuts, thread lube and a rattle gun to tighten them, but a propeller hub, despite its inherent toughness, will stretch and move up the propshaft a bit when it is used for the first couple of times. That's why they are so hard to get off.
Spook
This eliminates the need for fancy pullers and the fact that they generally dont hang onto the hub of a prop that well anyway. Trust me when you use a puller it will let go a couple of times before it actually pulls the prop off, it does let go with some force. Also when you use a puller and it eventually does pull the prop off it comes off like a bullet and will hit you in the guts because you are behind it winding the puller nut with a spanner. So if you persist with a puller leave the propshaft nut on the shaft after you loosen it.
Just one more thing when you put any prop onto a propshaft and run the boat. For the first couple of days out on the water always check that the propshaft nut is properly tightened at the end of the day. I use nyloc propshaft nuts, thread lube and a rattle gun to tighten them, but a propeller hub, despite its inherent toughness, will stretch and move up the propshaft a bit when it is used for the first couple of times. That's why they are so hard to get off.
Spook