Remove cutless bearing epoxyied in place

[rotorman]

Hi,

Soon I will be facing the challenge to replace the cutlass bearing on my Amel Euros 41.

The old bearing is made from a solid bearing material, no steel parts.
The existing bearing has been epoxyied in place with International EpiFill.
The bearing is glued into the bronze tube which is inside the fiberglass hull.

What is the best way to remove the old bearing?

I heard to heat the bearing but I don't know how to do that safely so the fiberglass hull does not get damaged.

Cheers
Geza

[TeddyDiver]

Not heat, freezing with dry ice. Reckon it's bronze tube with rubber insert you trying to remove, your post was a bit unclear in this regard? Try to remove as much of the rubber as it's possible and place dry ice inside the tube. Have a some kind of device to draw or push and tap the bearing out. Have some pressure on the bearing and use dry ice and warm water in turns and add pressure with tapping the bearing untill it starts to move. Check also if there's a locking screw holding the bearing in place (there should be one, maybe more)

Teddy

[RaymondR]

Don't use heat.

If you have the shaft out use a hacksaw blade to cut through the bearing material about 3/8" apart then use a screwdriver to pry out the 1/4" wide strip of bearing. You can then drive a screw driver under the remaining piece and break it free of the housing for removal. You may need to cut it this way a number of times.

[rotorman]

To clarify this is a bearing machined from single material, no rubber, neither set screw.

[Bruce K]

If the bearing is bronze bearing on a s/s shaft, the bronze bearing can be reamed out using increasing sizes of expanding reamers, until it is totally removed, or removed enough so a new bearing made of similar bronze can be inserted. Many Tasmanian fishing boats have bronze shaft bearings, usually lubricated by a plumbed in grease gun, just a shot or two every day.

[Bruce K]

The bearing you have is not a cutless bearing. Bronze shaft bearings are rarely use on recreational vessels, so I would check the bearing type carefully before proceeding.

[rotorman]

Ok, to futher clarify :-) The bearing is made from a plastic bearing material. Sorry for the confusion.

[jimbunyard]

The bearing is likely some version of Vesconite, or it may be Vesconite itself.

If so, you can try 'sectioning' it as described previously, and prying the the individual sections out. Success (or not) here will depend on how well the epoxy has bonded to the bearing material.

Alternatively, the bearing is made from easily machinable material, and can just be drilled out. This may be easier said than done; some sort of apparatus must be obtained or contrived to ensure the hole is drilled accurately to align with the drivetrain.

[oldjags]

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

The bearing is likely some version of Vesconite, or it may be Vesconite itself.

If so, you can try 'sectioning' it as described previously, and prying the the individual sections out. Success (or not) here will depend on how well the epoxy has bonded to the bearing material.

Alternatively, the bearing is made from easily machinable material, and can just be drilled out. This may be easier said than done; some sort of apparatus must be obtained or contrived to ensure the hole is drilled accurately to align with the drivetrain.

Yes. Maybe you could remove the existing prop shaft and use a slightly smaller shaft wrapped with sandpaper to gradually enlarge the hole. Connect a piece of hollow tubing larger than the shaft to the transmission flange for the shaft to slide in and out of and that will keep everything in line as you work.

[oldjags]

Alternatively, if there is space inside the boat to access the bronze tube, insert a piece of rod that is just small enough to slide inside the tube, and just tap it out from the inside.

[motion30]

If it is a fiber bearing this makes it much easier to cut with a hacksaw blade or Sawzall keep sectioning pieces until you were able to work it's free with a screwdriver or a chisel

[john o connor]

Hi ,

Contact the Amel owners site , this will give you the correct information you need .

John

[PDScott]

Have a look at this site. Good repair videos. Another option is a firm called Strut Pro. Had a look at their tool, looks good but I made my own . Hope this helps and good luck Peter

Replacing A Cutlass Bearing (Sleeve Bearing) Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com

[Dave Richter]

I will be removing two cutlass bearings, but I am doing it with the drive shafts in. I will purchase a bearing puller kit from Strut-Pro, I won't have to buy the whole kit since they sell a kit for your own personal use which is a lot cheaper.
I am dealing with 1-1/4 drive shaft and a 1-1/2 ID strut housing and the kit will fit that. The struts have set screws on both sides to hold the bearings in place, hoping this will be an easy project. Strut Pro has a video on doing this.

[flyingfin]

Originally Posted by rotorman

Ok, to futher clarify :-) The bearing is made from a plastic bearing material. Sorry for the confusion.

Suggest you hire the yard mechanic to do this job for you