[C320-list] Cutless bearing replacement

[Albert Kitten]

I made my own tools as well for a 1 inch shaft.

However taking a few thow of the dia of the tube is better than selecting a
much smaller dia pushing tool as it will preserve the end of the new
bearing during fitment and the old one during removal, especially if the
bearing has a brass outer skin.
They can grow into the housing and I don't use that type.
 I push the bearing inward and cut it off the shaft with a skinny cutting
disc. It just easy !!
I bought a  foot of 1 1/4 od 316 off cut for $5
Have replaced 7 bearings that way since our new 320 in 2008

(Always ensure the shaft remains free to turn during the replacement and a
hint is to warm the p bracket with a heat gun so it expands slightly)
Happy days.


On Wed, 6 Apr 2022, 3:17 am Joe Luciano, <jnluciano at comcast.net> wrote:

> Better yet, why not contact Strut-Pro and simply purchase the specific
> split collets for a 1” shaft?  Then you can use them directly for the tool
> you wish to make.  Those are the only precision required pieces for the
> tool to work.  I bought the Strut-Pro tool about a year ago and used it
> last summer to replace my cutlass bearing last summer.  Worked like a
> champ.  Tool cost was about $350 as I recall.  But, they will sell just the
> split collets for various shaft sizes.
>
> Joe Luciano
> Second Wind
> #1044
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Apr 5, 2022, at 9:51 AM, Graeme Clark <cg at skyflyer.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> > I am making my own removal tool (as I am on the other side of the pond,
> so loaner program is not an option!)
> >
> > I thought the bearing was 4 inches long, for a 1 inch shaft with an
> outside diameter of 1-1/4 inch so I ordered a suitable piece of steel tube
> and cut it lengthwise so that this will go either side of the shaft and
> then I will use this to push out the old bearing.
> >
> > My own boat is still in the water, being hauled out at the end of the
> month, so I tried it for size on  a friend’s C320. Given that he doesn't
> need his bearing replaced, this was limited to just sliding the two halves
> of the ‘extractor tube’ along the shaft until it touched the bearing.
> >
> > Now it seemed to me that the overall 1-1/4 inch outside diameter of the
> tube is actually too large to fit into the “p-bracket” (shaft support
> bracket that contains the cutless bearing).
> >
> > So thats easy enough to solve, i can get a thinner tube with a wall
> thickness of just 1/16 inch and thus an overall outside diameter of 1-1/8”
> >
> > BUT - is the bearing itself actually smaller?  Did Catalina change the
> spec at all (my boat is ’96, my friend’s is 99)
> >
> > Obviously i want to pre-order the bearing, ready for when my boat is
> hauled out, so I need to get it correct. Its going to be expensive to have
> her sat on the hard whilst I wait for a re-delivery of a wrongly ordered
> item!
> >
> > If anyone on this list actually has the removal tool in their
> possession, could they send me a photo and better still measure the outside
> diameter of the extraction piece.
> >
> > All other info gratefully received.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Graeme Clark
> > #366, 1996
> > “Jaskar”, Poole, England.
>
>