Having Trouble Pulling Prop. Help

[asgoodonceasieverwasonce]

Had some great input from Acme Propeller about the best prop for my 93 Sport Nautique. Received the new prop via UPS on Friday.

Today- Used a puller, with significant effort and a little heat, got it to "pop" loose. But now it hung up near the end of the shaft.

Its now loose, will move fore and aft a bit- but I can't get it to come off. The rudder is in the way- so the puller can't fit at this point I suppose that I could drop the rudder (but it very difficult to get to from the rear of the boat) and try the pulller with the rudder gone.

I have no plans to save the old prop (its pitted, and chewed up) Any suggestions?

[skiinxs]

RE: Having Trouble Pulling Prop. Help

Since it is a taper, the only thing that could be stopping the prop from coming the rest of the way off is the woodruff key. Take a look in the keyway and see if the key is staying with the shaft or moving with the prop (or moving partway and wedging in at the rear as the prop moves). Try using a small diameter punch and tapping it forward as you pull the prop back. I wouldn't put a puller back on it here, especially if it is the key, you could mess up the threads.
Dave

[Rick]

RE: Having Trouble Pulling Prop. Help

Push the prop back onto the shaft. Now that its loose it should slide easily. Remove the key from the keyway and then slide the prop off. You do not need to remove the rudder. If it neads some minor coaxing use a 2X2 or 2X4 block and a hammer. However it sould move up the shaft without effort. Good Luck