PROPSHAFT ALIGNMENT

DISCLAIMER: THIS DOCUMENT IS A SEVENTEEN ITEM NOTE FROM KEN

GIBBONS TO HIMSELF, CREATED TO REMIND IMSELF OF HOW HE ALIGNED
THE PROPSHAFT ON HIS
OWN BOAT. THESE NOTES ARE INTENDED SOLEY FOR KEN'S OWN
PERSONAL USE AT A FUTURE DATE. THEY ARE PROVIDED FOR LITERARY
TRIVIA INFORMATION ONLY. IN
NO WAY DOES KEN ASSERT OR ENDORSE THEIR ACCURACY, CORRECTNESS,
OR SAFETY. THEY ARE NOT TO BE USED BY ANYONE ATTEMPTING ANY
SUCH SIMILAR ADJUSTMENTS
OR REPAIRS. ADJUSTMENTS AND REPAIRS SHOULD BE PERFORMED ONLY
BY CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS FOLLOWING THE MANUFACTURER'S
RECOMMENDED PROCEDURES. KEN
GIBBONS IS NOT LIABLE IN ANY WAY FOR HARM, DAMAGE, OR LOSSES
CAUSED BY PERSONS ATTEMPTING ANY SUCH WORK BASED ON THIS
LITERARY TRIVIA INFORMATION.

It's a sad, sad world when I have to put in a disclaimer.

Now then, there are two steps to aligning an inboard drive system. The
first part is to make certain that the engine is parallel and co-linear
with the strut, so that the propshaft will pass straight through the strut
without skewing or binding in the bushing. It is important to check,
because it is possible to get the propshaft and engine perfectly aligned
(step 2), and have the propshaft crooked in the strut. This procedure
should only need to be done once in a boat's lifetime, but it isn't always
"perfect" from the factory. Many folks are unaware of this important
adjustment, others simply neglect it. It is described in items 2 through
9.

The second, much more common step, is to align the engine with the
propshaft, to make sure they are co-linear. This is the step referred to
as THE "propshaft alignment" in owners' manuals and on dealer service
check lists. It is described in items 10 through 17.

1. Complete, clear access to everything is desirable, so remove the floor

board and motor box from the boat.

2. Take off the hose clamp holding the packing gland's rubber connecting
boot to the shaft log. Carefully pry the rubber boot and seal a few
inches in front of the shaft log. A little moisture on the shaft will
help it slide easily.

3. Remove the four bolts which clamp the shaft and transmission couplers
together. Slide the shaft backwards about 1/4" until the pilot boss on
the shaft coupling disengages the pilot bore on the transmission coupling.
The shaft should be flopping around in the clearance between the strut
bushing and the shaft. Don't let the shaft slide all the way out or the
prop will smack the rudder.

4. Check the strut-to-engine parallelness to make sure that the

engine/transmission will aim the shaft straight through the strut bushing
without binding or bending. To find this neutral position, pull the shaft
from side to side with equal force, within the play of the strut bushing
clearance, while carefully watching the two couplers. The shaft coupler
should move equal distances laterally from the transmission coupler
centerline. If it moves 1/8" more one direction than the other, the motor
must be moved sideways that direction so that the two "line up".

5. To move the motor sideways, loosen the cinch bolts on the horizontal
round "slide rods" on each of the four motor mounts. Mark the slide rod
with a pen or tape for a reference point before moving it (just in case
you want to undo later). Move the engine by prying between the block and
motor mount with a crow bar and 2x4 or something similar. Since the strut
bushing is the center of the universe, so move the front of the engine
twice as far as the rear. In other words, the engine should move in a
giant arc about the strut. This will simplify the basic "propshaft
alignment" job in step 2.

6. Once the horizontal strut-to-engine parallelness looks good, straddle

the motor, grab the exhausts and rock the motor back and forth as hard as
possible to relieve any binding or tension in the mounts. Snug the cinch
bolts on the front, tighten them on the rear.

7. Check the vertical strut-to-engine parallelness the same way, only

lifting the shaft up and down in the bushing clearance. If it's off
centerline, loosen the cinch nuts on the vertical adjustment jack screws
on each mount and jack the engine until you have equal shaft play
vertically about the transmission centerline. Again, move the front twice
as far as the rear. Make sure you turn the front pair or rear pair of
jack screws the same number of turns so that the engine doesn't end up
leaning. Tighten the rear cinch nuts when you have it right.

8. When complete, the front of the engine may look like it's a bit off
center from the pylon to the passenger side. A MasterCraft boat is
designed that way to reduce the amount of steering input required to
counter torque steer. Using the wife's compact mirror, check to make sure
that the oil pan didn't get lowered onto the hull. At least a half an
inch clearance is nice. It's much better to have a bit of
off-parallelnees than an a hull-to-engine interference. Clean the mirror
and return it (! .

9. When the basic parallelness adjustment is satisfactory, push the

packing gland boot back onto the shaft log and tighten the hose clamp.
This must be done to make coupler alignment easier. It will hold the
couplers while measuring.

10. The rear mounts' cinch nuts and bolts should be tight. With the basic
engine-to-strut parallelness set according to the items 2-9 above, the
coupling alignment fine tuning should be done with the front mounts.

11. Slide the shaft coupling pilot boss into the transmission coupler
counter bore. Don't be surprised if it now isn't a perfect straight shot
like it seems it should be. If there was much of a parallelness
adjustment required, the rubber boot will have a "set" which will
initially pull the shaft off center from the transmission coupler. Don't
worry about it, the boot will relax and won't affect the overall
alignment.

12. Put the four coupling bolts back on, and tighten them until they suck
the couplings together within about 1/16" for working convenience.

13. Get out the feeler gauges to measure the alignment of the coupling
faces. The alignment should be within .003" or less according to
MasterCraft, both vertically and horizontally. That means that if the two
couplers are slid a tiny bit apart, the circular gap between them will not
vary in width more than .003" when measuring opposite sides. I like less
than .001", but then I'm not paying someone else to get it there.

14. First check the horizontal axis, at the 3 & 9 o'clock positions. Put
a .010 gauge on one side and slide the shaft and transmission coupling
faces together until they pinch it. The friction from the packing gland
should hold it in place. Now measure the other side. If it's in the
range between .007 and .013, it's good (technically). If it's outside
that range, loosen the front motor mount slide rod cinch bolts and pry the
motor to the side of the wider gap. As I remember, about 1/16" lateral
movement on the front mount makes about .001" at the couplings. When it's
in range, tighten the slide rod cinch bolts.

15. Check the vertical axis the same way, at 12 and 6 o'clock. The jack
screws make it much easier to adjust than the horizontal. As I remember,
about a quarter turn on each front screw makes about .001" at the
coupling. Move both screws in equal amounts.

16. After the vertical axis is dialed-in, re-check the horizontal because
it probably changed a bit. It's sometimes an iterative process. When
both axis are done, tighten the front motor mount jack screw cinch nuts
and slide rod cinch bolts. Tightening these sometimes changes things the
alignment. If it does, trial and error adjust them to get it just right.
Tighten propshaft coupling bolts when everything measures good.

17. The alignment may have changed the parallelness work done at first.
But not much. A real perfectionist would re-check the parallelness,
re-adjust, and re-do the alignment. It could turn into an infinite loop
as perfection is approached. I double checked my parallelness after
alignment, and it was good enough to leave as is.

Paralleling and aligning the drive system to less than .001" made a
noticeable difference in smoothness. It took me about 3 hours the first
time. I can now check just the propshaft alignment in a few minutes. The
MasterCraft structure has helped the drive system maintain the <.001"
alignment for 235 hours. Pretty amazing.

Glossary:
Coupler- Flanges on the rear of the transmission and front of prop shaft.
Packing Gland- The seal on the shaft which keeps water out, connected to
the shaft log.
Shaft Log- The fitting in the hull where the shaft passes through.
Strut- The member which holds the propshaft underneath the boat.
Strut Bushing- The fluted rubber bushing pressed in the strut.
Bushing Clearance- The designed-in play between the strut and shaft.