Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

[Jquest]

OK....I have a propshaft that I can't seem to find on ebay and BRp has it listed at 235.00 - more or less,depending where you find it. So my question is. Can a propshaft that has grooves were the inner and outer main seal go, be welded? WHat I mean is...can Stainless steel material be welded onto the shaft where the grooves are? Then using a lathe....can it be shaved back down to the original dimension?<br /><br />And if this can be done....anyone know a machine shop that does this work?<br />Pretty please!!

 

[Lubosleftboot]

Re: Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

Originally posted by Jquest:<br /> OK....I have a propshaft that I can't seem to find on ebay and BRp has it listed at 235.00 - more or less,depending where you find it. So my question is. Can a propshaft that has grooves were the inner and outer main seal go, be welded? WHat I mean is...can Stainless steel material be welded onto the shaft where the grooves are? Then using a lathe....can it be shaved back down to the original dimension?<br /><br />And if this can be done....anyone know a machine shop that does this work?<br />Pretty please!!

Yes that can be done but to be honest the cost in man hours in a machine shop would cost as much as a new shaft..

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

A far better solution is a device known as a Speedi Sleeve, which is made by Chicago Rawhide. You can usually find them at bearing suppliers. There's a tool you need to install them as well.<br />Alternatively, you can just get a machine shop to press on the sleeve. They make that repair all the time.<br />Speedi-sleeve brand sleeves are stainless, so that's not an issue.

 

[Jquest]

Re: Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

I found the website. <br /> http://www2.chicago-rawhide.com/speedi_sleeves.htm <br />WOW!! thx Paul!!!

 

[Jquest]

Re: Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

ok....ran into a problem with the speedi sleeve. They did have the right size I needed, but the length of the sleeve was not long enough. The sleeves come with a standard length size according to what is in their catalog. I needed it a little longer to cover both inner and outer seals. They told me that unless I ordered about a 1k of those thingys....that they didn't do custom work. Sooooo... it looks like I have to hunt down a used prop shaft on ebay or pray that by polishing it at the machine shop at work..I hope I was able to smooth it out enough were oil won't leak and water won't come in. Oh well...

 

[68whaler]

Re: Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

Is there a reason you can't install two of the sleeves = one to cover the wear from each of the original shaft seals?

 

[Jquest]

Re: Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

1 sleeve = 44.00 X 2 = not worth it. They recommended me a couple of places around my area. Let me call them and see what they tell me. Maybe they have other solutions.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

If you've got access to a machine shop, just make your own sleeve. I just made one 0.010 thick to fix a corroded crankshaft journal (bottom main seal area). Turn the outside down, polish it, and bore out the inside until it's a couple thousandths shy. I even made a tool to press it on with.

 

[Jquest]

Re: Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

I gotta see how many lunches that might cost me. But again.... Thx for the idea.

 

[AlexeiVT]

Re: Prop shaft repair question for a little 25hp.

Just a few ideas...can't for sure how well they'd work.<br /><br />But, figuring if you go the sleeve route, you'd really only need to rely on having the stainless sleeve more or less centered on the seal...so why not just cut one in half, and use whatever you fancy to fill in the space between the two.<br /><br />And and even simpler and cheaper solution, would be to try something like JB weld, or any other 2-part epoxy than can stand up to some abuse...certainly inexpensive to try, can be ground/sanded to form fairly easily.<br /><br />I know the task of replacing seals if the above solution fails, is not the most fun...but in the overall scheme of things, if it did work, it'd sure be a heck of a lot cheaper than the alternatives.<br /><br />Not knowing what's at you're disposal...you could theoretically even slice a slab of something like aluminum to fill in the groove (then glue it place, put sleeves over the ends, or just screw it into the prop shaft)...the aluminum could also be machined/sanded fairly easily, and would hold up as well as the epoxy.<br /><br />What comes to mind, is affixing the prop shaft to a drill press, and setting up a jig to hold things secure so you can take a file to it and create an even round surface.<br /><br />Aside from that, there's no reason to suspect that you couldn't just sand things (whatever you use to fill the gap) done so patiently by hand...true, granted machine shops due a guaranteed job in a fraction of the time, but don't forget what mankind and our ancestors came up w/ just by using simple tools, and proper techniques, to get what's needed...tinkering is a gift, success a blessing.<br /><br />Also...the stainless canbe welded, ideally w/ a MIG or TIG set for stainless...but you can also MIG weld steel onto stainless using standard ER70S wire (and probably gas weld it as well)...you'd have the potential for rust, but w/ regular use being turned in fresh water, the seals would hold up for some time...just ideas on how to do it the "cheap" way.<br /><br />Still think, if it was my own...I'd cut the speedy sleeve into two shorter ones, and after pressing them where they need to go to make contact w/ the seal, goop up the remaining groove as much as possible (won't make much difference cosmetically or functionally where there is nothing making contact w/ those areas).