shaft log hose how to replace

[Viper driver]

Just bought a 2004 Ski Nautique 196. The shaft log hose looks bad and I'd like to replace it.

-Assuming it comes off the front of the prop shaft, correct?
-Can I slide the prop shaft aft far enough without removing the prop or rudder?
-How difficult is it to get the hose off the front of the shaft? Tough to take the shaft loose at the trans or some coupler that I have to remove?

I know there is some really tough part here, but just wondering what it is and what special tools I need.

Thanks!

[DanielC]

You have to drop the rudder.
The shaft is a press fit, with a woodruff key in the coupler that bolts to the transmission flange.
The safety collar will also need to be loose, and you may need to clean the shaft between the safety collar, and the transmission coupler.

Do you really need to replace the hose?

If you are doing that much work, I would consider going to a dripless packing nut of some type.

[shag]

Is it leaking? I'm with DanielC. It is a bit of a process to replace that, and you actually need to use shaft log hose. NP has it I think. There also should be a write up's on this over at CCF.com

[Viper driver]

Thanks guys. I was thinking it needed replacing because it looks really aged, as you can see in the photo. I'm imagining if it fails my boat would start taking on quite a huge amount of water pretty quickly. That's the only reason I wanted to replace it. the rest of the hoses on the boat look fine, just this one that's so cracked.

So you think I'm ok to leave it as is looking as cracked as it is? Maybe it's more likely to start a slow leak than catastrophic failure? I have ordered shaft log hose and new packing material. I've already removed the prop once and tightened the packing so I understand how those two parts work at least.

[shag]

Nothing wrong with Erring on the side of caution. If I recall, that is a much thicker/heavier hose than say, water pump hose. I have not seen one fail... Maybe someone else will chime in...

[Viper driver]

so if I understand correctly to change it, I'd:

remove the rudder
take the shaft coupler loose from the trans
remove the coupler
move the shaft well aft
slide the hose off the front
install in reverse

and the tough part is separating the couplers and removing the coupler from the shaft, is that about right?

[crobi2]

so if I understand correctly to change it, I'd:

remove the rudder
take the shaft coupler loose from the trans
remove the coupler
move the shaft well aft
slide the hose off the front
install in reverse

and the tough part is separating the couplers and removing the coupler from the shaft, is that about right?

Yeah, if you're going to do it, you gotta take your time so you don't warp the flange and you've got to heat the coupler up to 500 deg in the oven to get it back on.

I had to do mine under the v-drive when my cutless bearing wore out. I just replaced the whole shaft with a double taper shaft so that the coupling goes on with a taper instead of an interference fit. I wasn't about to try to handle a 500 deg F coupler under the v-drive!

[shag]

Yep, I just bought a new ARE shaft and coupler. Went together much easier and I know if I ever need to replace things, it will be much easier. I got lucky removing mine and was able to tap coupler (after unbolted from tranny) with a hammer to free the shaft.

[TRBenj]

I would opt to pull the prop rather than drop the rudder. The shaft should clear the rudder.

[96SNEFI]

After the bear of a job removing the coupler I went for a split coupler from Buck Algonquin to make any future removal easier. I also used a different shaft seal from Catalina Performance Parts that needed a slightly longer hose. Apparently they've been around for many years. I didn't make any close observations as to how well it's doing its job. The boat didn't sink all summer though. I was replacing the cutless so rudder, prop and shaft were pulled.

[charlesml3]

The shaft should clear the rudder.

It won't. You'll have to pull the rudder.

-Charles