Prop Puller doesn't Fit

[peteSki]

I recently did a bit of work including replacing the drive shaft, prop and strut bushings. I had an OJ prop so I bought an OJ prop puller which worked fine at removing the prop. The replacement prop is an ACME #422 and is the standard replacement for the boat. I was putting the new prop on and noticed that the gap between the prop and the strut is smaller than with the OJ prop, and as a result my OJ Prop puller will not fit in this gap, so its useless. I haven't yet put the prop on tight so I can still remove it by hand, but I wanted to find out if anyone else has seen this issue before I tighten up the new prop.

I can think of 2 solutions to remove the prop in the future:

1) get an ACME prop puller, as maybe the ends are narrower than the OJ prop puller and it will fit in this gap
2) disconnect the coupler from the transmission and slide the whole shaft down enough to fit the existing puller - a lot of work just to remove a prop.

One other thing I noticed is that the ARE driveshaft is 1/8" shorter tip to tip than the original one that came out. I believe this is correct but I'll double check with Skidim. Even with that extra 1/8" I think the gap would still be too small for the OJ prop puller.

Would appreciate any comments, I've attached a pic of the gap.

Pete
97 Ski Nautique, GT-40

[TRBenj]

Exactly how big is that gap? Less than 1/4"? Both my OJ and Acme prop pullers would fit in a 1/4" gap.

Other than the puller clearance issue, youve actually got a really nice set up. Bringing the prop closer to the shaft results in better performance, and puts less stress on the shaft and strut bushing.

If it were me, Id loosen the 4 coupling nuts just enough to get the puller on. Its actually a good time to remove them entirely and check your alignment too.

[210GA]

Or you could have loosen the nut a half turn, backed her in the water (just enough so she can suck in the water needed to run; keeping it on the trailer hooked up) and romped on the throttle one good hard time, pulled out of the water, take nut off and the prop would have come right off.

[CradGen2]

I seem to remeber OJ making a 3 blade prop puller and 4 blade. I have an OJ 4 blade puller and just pulled my ACME 422 using it. Worked fine. Maybe call OJ to see what you have.

I have done the reverse thing. It does work. Took me a couple tries. Also I have seen a person use a harmonic puller. Have something that screwed on the end of the shaft they hit it hard once with a metal hammer and the prop came right off. I've also seen a person do the same thing using a socend nut. Again I haven't tried the harmonic route.

I might just buy the right puller you will have it the rest of your life.

[DanielC]

Loosen the coupling nuts. That is what I do with my 1997 Ski Nautique, I just open the engine cover and reach under it, using two 9/16 wrenches.

[east tx skier]

If it doesn't fit, I suspect that it has to do with some of the drive shaft work you mentioned. I have a 98 SN, went from a 4 blade OJ to an Acme 422 and have an OJ 4 blade prop puller. I have used it several times and have had not trouble with clearance or getting the prop removed.

[peteSki]

Thanks guys. I've had the boat 6 years now and have only had to remove the prop once to do the driveshaft and strut bearing removal, so I don't expect to have to remove the prop often, so I can live with loosening the coupler and sliding the shaft out a bit to make room. As I had the driveshaft out, I did take the opportunity to do an alignment as well as install a PSS shaft seal. It's all looking very nice now! I got the alignment perfect on the vertical and to .002 on the horizontal. Couldn't get it perfect as my rear motor mounts were not too co-operative.

The gap between the prop and the strut is 3/8", which is just a hair too small for the OJ prop puller. I've confirmed with Skidim that the shaft length is correct for this boat, as I expected.

One other thing I just noticed is that the end of this shaft doesn't have a dimple where the prop puller screw would fit. The OJ puller I have has this and it worked well on the old shaft that did have this dimple. I suppose I could either grind the spike off the top of the puller or drill a small dimple into the end of the shaft, anyone tried this?

Pete

[DanielC]

I removed the spike on the puller bolt. Easier to reach than trying to drill a centered dimple in the prop shaft, with the rudder in the way. Use the propeller nut to center the puller bolt, if needed.