Spun hub.. need advise

[brandenjg]

Hi everyone, My outboard has a spun hub so i need to remove the propeller. Only thing is i cant see how to remove it. As you can see in the photo there is no nut holding it on so i cant see how its even stayed on in the first place. Ive been hitting away with a block of wood, some rags and a hammer but it wont come off. Is there something holding it on that i havn't noticed? Thanks in advance Branden

[Happy Jax 3]

Hi Branden

What make and type of outboard do you have?

[brandenjg]

Hi happy jax, it's a mercury 200 20hp thunderbolt blue band. I'm using this link as my reference to parts http://www.marineengine.com/parts/mercu ... ete-page-2

[Happy Jax 3]

It looks like the prop hub has seized on the shaft, they normally have a nut and washer only that hold it on. Looks like that in the drawing in your link. A good soak with penetrating oil may help, otherwise you may need a puller.

[Guest]

It looks like a standard splined shaft with a rubber sleeved hub.

If they get a chance to rust on for several years without being periodically removed and regreased (with waterproof grease), they can become seized, as HappyJax3 said.

You'll never shift it without a three leg puller. Any amount of bashing is only off-centre so will just damage shaft bearing.

When you use the heaviest puller that can fit on it, you may even find that the rubber sleeve will tear out anyway, and leave just the inner splined dog, still seized on the shaft. You'll then need to pull that off with a puller. The rubber sleeve is there on that size of motor in place of the shear pin that is used on smaller outboards. It's designed to slip if the blades hit something solid at high revs, and save the gearbox.

Then wire brush the splines as thoroughly as possible without damaging the shaft seal, grease with waterproof grease and fit a new prop.

I remove and regrease and refit my props each year, to stop them getting stuck.

[brandenjg]

Looks like i'll be soaking it in wd40 for a few days then, as I don't have access to a puller i'll get a couple of my hench friends to have a go at pulling it off. I was wary when hitting it as the block of wood had to sit on 1 of the 2 blades so i would of been hitting it uneven (hopefully this hasn't caused any damage). I'll keep you updated as to when i get it off and any possible damage. Thanks for the advice forumites.

[Hockham Admiral]

Branden, Hi

I've just spent half an hour searching my garage for the three (different sizes) 3-leg pullers I bought in Singapopre in 1982! (I never throw anything away!

But I now recall I loaned then to someone a couple of years back..... now just who was that?

Only tip I can offer is to chat to your local bike or garage man and see if you could borrow/hire one to do the job... Good Luck, anyway!

[ExUserGone]

A puller is far better than a hammer and if you can heat the centre bush somehow that'll help loads, how to do that without knackering the prop bush I don't know, ignore the boiling water idea as it just isn't enough.(wheres the gas-axe)

Whacking it probably won't damage the bearing but will very likely bend the shaft, the bearing is the cheap bit but the shaft is not so be very careful, I have straightened enfield shafts before but it takes a good while with centres, hydraulic press, and a dial gauge to get it right, then it needs crack testing to see if you've over done it and buggered it anyway so best not bent in the first place.

I always like to check shaft run-out anyway as you'd be surprised how much they can get bent.( 2.5 bmc diesel stopped dead @ 2500rpm does it well, .032" run out, that would be a concrete step then....shaft still going )

[Guest]

Sorry to sound pessimistic again, but nothing will shift it other than a puller. (IMHO)

I could be soaked until Domesday in penetrating oil (much better for that than wd40), but that won't ease the amount of force to pull the prop boss off of the heavily corroded splined shaft.

True, the bearings are tough, but I think the first thing to go would be the aluminum prop blades, and the boss would still be firmly attached.

Three leg pullers are quite cheap on ebay (starting around £15), and are an essential part of any DIY'ers kit, for boats, bikes, and cars.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat ... er&_sop=15

You'd have the best chance of saving the prop, and they're well over £100...

[MBA Marine]

As stated the puller is the way to go, but one thing you could try after the soaking for a few days would be to have engine supported on its back, have someone take the weight of the leg by holding the prop then after winding a nut on the shaft but not so far as the threads stick through, you can firmly (but not beating it with anger) hit the nut, you might just find the prop will pop up the shaft, if it does take of the nut and then it will slip off.

[diesel falcon]

If it,s spun it,s hub, then the props knakered anyway.....cut it off taking care not to damage the shaft

[brandenjg]

Hi everyone. I managed to borrow a puller off my neighbour and it didnt help. So i went at it with an angle grinder, which didnt help. Ive got the prop off but not the actual part of it which connects to the engine. Ive removed the whole lower unit and the plan is to take that to a proffessional too see if they can get the rest of the prop off with something hydraulic. Not very happy to say the least.

[diesel falcon]

Hi,

nearly there, cut down the length of the bush with a hacksaw, or slowly with the grinder ,then tap a wedge into the cut,this may loosen the bush

[brandenjg]

The angle grinder is safely hidden away now I went at it bit by bit with the hack saw and eventually got it all off . It turns out it was held on with something like liquid weld and was wedged onto a thick rubber sleeve. Looking at other prop shafts for my engine i cant help but notice that they have teeth the whole length of the viewable shaft and that mine only has 1cm. Im not sure if this means i wont be able to properly attach a new prop?

[MBA Marine]

What the hell!

You would expect to find the spline'd shaft running the full length of the prop, as the prop would also be spline'd to match and the two lightly greased would slip together, look online at a engine schematic to see if you should have a disk (of sorts) behind the prop to stop the prop pushing on the leg.

With a thin sharp chisel you may want to spend some time seeing if the shaft will clean up.

Otherwise there are breakers online, see if you can get a replacement shaft, as well as a prop. (you might not like the price of a new ones you might find it cheaper to buy another engine). As you have removed the leg (hope you know how to put it back together!) it would be very wise to change the impeller. Get yourself a small pot of silicone grease and put a small wipe on all rubber washers and seals as your reassembling.

Lastly never buy Engines on Ebay, but its worth a look to see if there is one on there for spares.

Good luck

[Guest]

Lastly never buy Engines on Ebay, but its worth a look to see if there is one on there for spares.

True, that's sound a advice for anyone not mechanically minded, but taken literally it would mean that it's not worth buying cars or motorbikes on ebay either.

Over the years I've bought five outboards, two marine gearboxes, five mopeds, and two cars on the Internet, all from private sellers, and they were all very good value and in good used condition.

I've also "viewed" others prior to bidding, and walked away laughing, that anyone could describe such rubbish so falsely.

Caveat Emptor certainly, but Ebay can be a wonderful resource if you know what you're looking at.

Unfortunately, because of their frequent abuse and lack of maintenance, coupled with immersion in salt water, outboard motors can be the riskiest thing to buy secondhand from any source....

[diesel falcon]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MERCURY-20-HP ... 53f163c0fe

this is a long shaft model 200/20hp, shows a splined shaft , are we talking about the same engine??

[Guest]

This one's a bit nearer and could be couriered for about £20, but there's always the danger that either of them could still have a prop siezed on to the shaft...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20hp-Outboard ... 27ce972803

Maybe best to cut the losses and buy a another, lower horsepower secondhand outboard ?

An old 20hp two stroke would use a lot of fuel, even at Broads speeds...

Quite a few others on Ebay at the moment, within easy pickup distance from Norwich:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Boat-Engines- ... llerType=1

[brandenjg]

I've cleaned it down to the metal and theres no indication that it was ever splined the whole length. I really don't want to cut my losses and buy a new engine as this one was working so well. Pumps water perfectly, no problems with gears just spun the hub and is now useless I cant remove the gearcase retaining nut so even if i could get a new shaft i wouldn't be able to install it. Realistically i would only put £200 max into repairs. As far as getting a new engine a 15hp 4 stroke would be ideal for what i want, just a shame i can't afford one at the moment. It's a shame you can't buy outboards on a pay monthly basis I agree about there being some junk engines on ebay so id only buy one i could see running either in person or on a video.

[MBA Marine]

From your picture, it looks like liquid metal (gunk) around the splines then tape I would guess to hold it in place/ettempt to stop it sticking to the prop, I would think it was either the wrong prop or had spun and striped its splines.

If it really will not chip off so that you can work on it then look at it another way, you should get approx £100 selling it honestly and as spares or repair, as you have stated it runs well.

put that with the £200 your prepared to spend fixing it, £300 if you search around should get you a better engine than you started with.

[Guest]

If it really will not chip off so that you can work on it then look at it another way, you should get approx £100 selling it honestly and as spares or repair, as you have stated it runs well.

put that with the £200 your prepared to spend fixing it, £300 if you search around should get you a better engine than you started with.

I have to agree with MBA, and you're probably getting tired hearing this, but buying specific parts for discontinued engines is very frustrating and expensive. Every penny spent on trying to restore one is effectively lost when you finally bite the bullet.

True, a 15hp 4 stroke is £1000 to £2000, but there's a whole load of suitable secondhand outboards out there for much less than that.

If I remember your boat correctly, I'd say for Broads use an 8 or 10 hp would be much better suited, being half the weight on the transom and when being manhandled on and off the boat. Much cheaper on fuel than the 20 (even still as a two stroke). They often crop up locally to the Broads, secondhand, privately, for around £200.

[brandenjg]

I've taken a risk and decided to repair the outboard rather than buy another one that could be a lemon. As i've been unable to find the year of my outboard via serial finding the parts has been alot of hassle. However i found a company in america with a lower unit that looks identical to mine (but with a splined shaft, anodes and in near enough brand new condition) and after a few emails was told it is the right one. 312.17 dollars later its in the post on its way. Also ordered a shiny new 3 blade prop to go with it for £60. All in im looking at around £300 for the parts which is ALOT for an old engine im sure will break in a few years, but when all the cables and steering are set for the engine and after bringing it back from the scrap heap once already i've grown fond of the old girl :

[Guest]

Sorry to be doom and gloom again, but you may get a vat charge as well, when it comes through UK Customs, even though it's a used item.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPort ... 4#P20_1785

I've been hammered a few times now, especially from the USA.

[MBA Marine]

I can understand what your trying to do, and its your engine and your money but before you had spent so much money I think if I couldn't have found a replacement part I would have picked up a cheap 2nd hand prop, then drilled a hole through the shaft (if I couldn't drill it, grind a flat spot) then put a bolt either through hole or across the flat (like a gudgon pin on a bicycles peddle).

The Shaft is knackered anyway and run it till its dead, max cost 2nd hand prop £20 and less.

[ExUserGone]

I'd want to get the remains off the shaft even if it's only for curiosity to see whats under it, careful grinding could still do the trick.