TBarCYa

I just acquired a 1975 21' Regal cuddy with a mercruiser 888 and am having some issues. First, the prop is damaged and I need to remvoe it but the previous owner didn't appear to have taken good care of it and the prop is stuck. I've tried the local shops to see if someone will loan or rent a puller but I've had no luck nor would anyone give me an estimate on how much they would charge to remove the prop. Is there anything I can try to get this thing off or perhaps someone from south Jersey that has a puller and would remove this thing for me?? I've tried heating the hub but didn't have much luck.

On the same boat, the steering is very loose. I can move the drive 80% of it's range without the wheel moving. I tracked the problem to the arm that connects to the steering cable and goes thru the transom. It appears to be loose at the drive but I've never had an I/O before and have never taken one apart. Can anyone give me a brief rundown of how to get the thing apart and what parts I may be looking at in terms of repairs??

Thanks in advance for any help.

Reckless32

Probably corroded and stuck to the shaft. I would take a rubber mallet and a block of wood and simply beat on the end of the prop to try and pop it loose or4 something similar.

The loose part is probably a worn gimbal ring. At the top of the ring that turns the drive from the shaft you mewntioned, is a sort of squared pin. There are two bolts that are to be tightened annually at 55 ft lbs. to keep it tight (see photo). Over time the squared hole the pin (which is connected to the pivot arm up top) will round out the hole it fits ionto. The bolts by the way simply squeeze the gimbal tightly around the pin. As it wears the slop increases giving you the slack of left to right on the drive. If you can get slop lifting up and down then it would be the bushing at the pivot point underneath.

Here's a website that does repairs and trades at a little cheaper than new cost on gimbals. http://www.jrmarine.com/products/gimbal_repair.htm