Prop Strut Problems

[Tom Foolery]

With all of the information you all have been able to give me regarding how to change the bearings in the prop strut I set out to change them this weekend.
All was going well. Had the boat hoisted at King Harbor Marina & was able to pull the rudder and prop shaft with no probems.
However when I got home & set out to insall the bearings I noticed that the strut had two cracks in it. They run along the strut from the the front edge where the shaft comes in back. They are about a 1/4 inch long and about 1/4 inch apart.
I also noticed that there were stress cracks in the hull around the strut, which it itself I thought was normal for a boat of this age. (77). However it appeared that oil from the bilge has seeped through the cracks.
So with some help from Flat Broke (thanks again, I owe you big time) I pulled the motor and trans to get a better look at the hull above the strut. There is a large patch of fiberglass and a metal plate which follows the contours of the hull. The plate is bolted to the stringers and the strut bolts to it as well.
The original owner said the boat has not had any work done to it but I'm starting to think he was being less than truthful about its past. :idea2: as the extra glass kind of looks like a repair consistant with hitting something and had the strut damaged the hull.
I filled the bilge with water last night & there is no noticible leaks this morning so maybe the cracks aren't really a leak problem.
Ok, now for my question. I'm thinking that the strut should be replaced. Are these cracks in the strut all that serious or not? & If so who should I look to get geting with work done. I was going to call Wilkes but I would like to talk to more than one place & have some options if one can't get to my boat right away.
Also I'm guessing it will run $700-1000 for the work. Does this sound about right?

[83nordic]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... the cracked strut is bad, very bad and the damage to the floor would make me very nervous. I would disassemble the strut and remove the plate and get a very close look at the floor where the strut attaches, also check the whip strut and your shaft log and v-drive mounts something bad happened and it may have damaged more than your main strut. Is you prop shaft straight? Remember the strut is holding on to your prop shaft spinning real fast with a prop on the end, if this stuff comes apart it would be dangerous not to mention expensive.Post some pics if you get time and I will be happy to give you my two cents( probably worth less ).
Good luck

[Tom Foolery]

Thanks 83. I have some pics on my camera & I need to get them on the computer.
I've called wilkes & they are a supposed to get back to me later today when Jim is in. Anyone know of any other places I could contact?

[83nordic]

TF, The only folks I know personally are in AZ. I have certainly heard good things about Wilkes. As i mentioned before you have a bit of a problem there, so make sure you get it fixed right. You may end up having to go with a drop thru strut well supported inside the boat. I am concerned that your floor has lost the integrity to hold the strut, and i noticed on another thread that you have a turbo motor in the thing and that is going to need some stout stuff.
Best of luck

[Tom Foolery]

It always amazes me the condition some people keep their boat in. I'm sure the strut has been cracked for some time now. We test drove the boat before I bought it so it does work in its current condition. Maybe I'm just pickey but I have found quite a few things in the boat that make me question how well it was taken care of.

[superdave013]

Tom, My boat is at Prime Marine getting a new strut installed as we speak. Mike @ Prime - 909 484 8338 They do kick ass work over there. Never had anything done at Wilke's place but I know that Bounce over there knows his stuff too.
I had Schiada96 make a new strut for me and Mike @ Prime is taking care of the install. You could send your strut off to Jeff aka schaida96 and have him make another like it.
Hey, I didn't just blow you off on that c-500 info. My puter crashed and I lost some stuff and other stuff got corrucpt. Long story short the c 500 info I had is no more.

[superdave013]

Originally posted by 83nordic
go with a drop thru strut well supported inside the boat.
Now would be the time to do that!
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/48strut_install-med.jpg

[Tom Foolery]

Dave, I actually just got off the phone with Prime Marine. Spoke with Mike & he seemed like a very nice guy took time to answer all my questions & ball parked the costs I might be facing. It was a little more than I was hoping to hear but I looked at their website and they do look like they know their stuff. I want to still talk to a few other places & see what they think
No worries about the C-500 Question. I was able to find some breakdowns of the v-drive that has answered my questions for now. I would still be interested if there is anything that you are aware of to learn more about them like manual or something.

[Prop Rod]

Tom,
Schiada96 is who i would contact, he has built all of my stuff for a while. He can make a custome piece for your application and horsepower range.
The upside to all of this is you were able to catch this before you really broke something :eek!:

[Tom Foolery]

I shot Jeff a PM, I've been watching his thread on one of the struts he's been working on & it looks amazing.

[Tom Foolery]

Some possible good news. I have spoke with a few different places now and they all said that the patch and the brace are not necessarly the signs of previous damage. They all seemed to think that it was probably extra support for the strut. Now they haven't seen it yet but at least I have more hope now.

[Speedin' Ian]

Too bad about the boat TF but I am sure you will get it fixed up better than new. I know Mike from Prime pretty well and he is a great guy whom I would have no problem trusting my boat with, just remember your life, and lives of your loved ones are in that boat so make sure the guys doing the repairs know what their doing. Also Schiada96 does some great work, so I'm sure with the help of some of these guys on the boards you'll have that thing back in the water in no time.

[Tom Foolery]

After 48 hours with water in the bilge the boat didn't leak as much as I thought it would. There was a drip coming from the stress cracks around the strut but it was a very slow one. In a half an hour the only visible drip didn't fall.
So for now at least I'm thinking the cracks, while unfortunate are probably not too serious.
I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about the strut on the boat. Replacing it with a custom made strut seems like it would be the best (& most cost effective) but I want to make sure if I have one made it will be as simple as bolting a new one in place of the old one.
I took some pictures last night & I'll post em as soon as I get them off the camera.

[Spotondl]

Your water test is fine except for a few things... The test is a static test, you have NO dynamic forces working on the strut. Moving water, torque forces on the strut, side forces on the strut in a turn, ALL these need to be taken into consideration. A crack is a crack. If there is any structural damage to the bottom of your boat, as indicated by the crack/s, you NEED to take it seriously.
Just my .02

[Tom Foolery]

Spotondl, those are good points. I am still planning on having them looked at. I'm going to remove the strut and brace this weekend and see what the hull below the brace looks like.

[Tom Foolery]

I finally got the pictures of what I've been dealing with.
Heres the Strut. Notice the oil in the cracks.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/1979Image-19-med.JPG
This is another view of the cracks
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/1979Image-01-med.JPG
Its hard to see but this shows the crack in the strut. Its the dark line coming from the front edge.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/1979Image-07-med.JPG