Bent Strut on 88 Mastercraft

My boat has a squeeking at low speeds which seems to go away after a while or at higher speeds. Also seems to produce a lot of vibration.
I looked under the boat after reading a few threads and sure enough the strut is really bent. The shaft bearings are worn unevenly also.

My question is this. Is it possible to bend the strut back straight or is my only option to replace it?

Also what is the normal cost of a strut, shaft, shaft bearings? Thanks

a new shaft is about $300. I didn't have to replace the strut or bearings know about them.

I have done it on an old Sanger race boat. It was a bear, those struts are really strong. We used an old shaft as a lever and had to take a torch to the strut. Unless they don't make the strut anymore I would probably just install a new strut with new bearings already installed.

Search the posts for the guy that hit a stump, I posted some links in that thread with some pricing.

Just replaced the strut, shaft, and had the rudder straightened as well. It's not pretty. cost me a little under $1000, they also re-alinged everything. do you have insurance? I have a 96 prostar

(Message edited by acurtis_ttu on March 31, 2005)

I just bought the boat about three weeks ago. No insurance on it right now. I'm wondering if a good maching shop could bend it back in place. MC said the strut is only about $142 so thats not too bad. I found one online for $75, though I don't know if it's the right one. When I try to turn the prop by hand I have to use both hands and a towel cause it hurts I have to push so hard. That can't be good for the transmission.

In the last three weeks I've added a monster tower, ballast, sweet stereo, board rack and sun deck to the back. I bought the boat for only $6,000. I got all the luxury items taken care of, now if only it runs smooth.

Sorry to hear about it. Make sure you check everything out in the running gear. Did you do it or was it like that when you bought it? If done before you, I would be asking the circumstances for the bent strut. Maybe some underlying problems. Good price for the boat, invest the money and get new parts. "Chrome don't get you home." Sounds like a sweet boat, got any pics?

Curt

It was like that before I bought it. Luckily I live in Vegas so I've been out riding already.
A couple weeks ago it got up to 85 so we went down to Mead. Nice water. I forgot my wet suit was in Utah. Water temp was about 62. Nothing was gonna stop me though.

On the shaft and strut, if you climb under the boat and feel the stut you can tell that it's crooked. Also there is some slight damage to the prop, not bad though. There is also a gouge in the hull above the prop so what ever they hit they must have gotten it good. There is a bunch of silicone that looks new that was pushed out around the strut, so they have obviously had it off at some point. I'm starting to think that they may have already tried the bending the strut thing. Shaft does not visibly look bent but who knows.

the local prop shop here was very helpful with ordering a new prop shaft, checking my rudder, and helping replace the strut bushing. i'd check with yours, the strut really depends on how bad it is. i didn't have to repair or replace mine but they don't look like fun to remove.

the shaft will be harder to turn by hand when the bushing is dry. splash some water or spray some windex or 409 to lube it.

i just bought a tri-star and only had it out twice do to the ohio temp. i found it hard to steer until 1/2 way into the turn and then it was easy. this is my first inboard so I thought it may have been normal. do u think i may have a strut/shaft/rudder problem. i sure hope not, but any imput will help.

bdr,
it is hard to say. I am not sure exactly what you mean by it is hard to stear? Do you mean that it is tight, this could be a stearing cable problem. If it is loose at idle I don't think that would be your problem, but if it is always hard to turn the wheel that could be it.
If you mean that it doesn't handle well that it kind of typicall for the tristar depending on how much wieght you are running. My tristar turns easier to the port side and seems to want to dig into the water a little when turning to the drivers(starboard) side. Also the prop makes a difference in powering through the turn. I use to run a 13x13 oj 4 blade and went to a 13x11.5 3 blade acme and the boat definetly handles the turns a lot better with the acme. Hope this helps, if you have any other questions on the tristar let me know I have had mine for 3 years and put probably 500+ hours on it although I am selling it cause I bought a super sport.

stan,
this deffently helps. it is easy to turn the wheel stoped or out of water the tightness only occurs while turning. I hope its only the cable.

rob, sorry to get off your topic but best of luck with the 88

robandrus, I would take the boat in and have it looked at. That doesn't mean that you have to have them fix it, but it sounds like you might have some other isssues.

bdr, I can't remember if the Tristar has strakes or not, but my steering is effortless in and out of the water. Either at slalom, wakeboard or idle speeds. One hand, but I am not loaded with a ton of weight either, standard 600lbs sack in back and 3 adult males in boat. Pull the rear middle floorboard and grease the zerks. If that doesn't take care of it, maybe a new cable. I grease all zerks every winter.

Curt

(Message edited by slalomskifreak on April 01, 2005)

Utah Rob,

Sounds like you are mechanically inclined enough to tackle the task. Just get a replacement strut, as I said before it's not worth trying to repair it when you can get a new one already loaded with a new bearing for a little over a hundie.

There are two ways to check to see if the shaft is bent. Either remove and roll it across a flat surface like a pool table watching for the bump bump bump or put a dial gauge on it and roll it around watching for deflection.

Once you have the new strut in place and the straight shaft you need to check the alignment. This requires some time and some feeler gauges. With all the bolts out of the transmission coupler check the flanges to see how they mate. They should be in-line with each other. If they are in-line next you need to check the angle. Put one bolt in the flanges and tighten it finger tight. At this point you might want to get a marker and put a few clock marks in different positions around the flanges so you can keep track of where you are going. The flanges should be within a thousand or two of square. Roll the shaft and tx around every now and then while you are checking things. What you lack in experience you can more then make up with time. It's hard for boat dealers to take the adequate time to perform a very good alignment, with some patience you can easily achieve an alignment as good or better that you will receive from the dealer.

When it's straight and tru bolt it up and finish silicone seal the strut. Now might be a good time to replace the prop and keep you damaged prop as a spare.

Go for a test drive, it should run smooth as silk.

Mike thanks for the info on the alignment.
I just talked to the shop. They said $284 for the strut, so I called him on it. They had told me $142 the other day. He re-looked it up and went back to $142. On saturday I went out to Mead but the ranger kicked us off because we weren't registered. He said he could give us an $82 ticket and we could keep go riding. Summer is long here so I'll wait.

I came home and pulled the prop, strut and shaft. All I can say is wow, who ever managed to get the shaft to couple with the tranny was really stretching things. I was really worried but when I rolled the shaft on a smooth surface it looks really good. The strut however was only rolled to one side it was also really off front to back. Hopefully that makes sense.

Mike I'm curious about the alignment, the engine and tranny have some very large mounting bolts that obviously adjust but look very intimidating. In order to get the alignment do you mess with those as well or can you adjust it elsewhere?

Here are some pics of the boat from Saturday.

So let me get this right. You know your strutt is bent out of whack and you still took your boat out to the lake? That was not the smartest thing to do. You are risking major wear and damage to your tranny. Keep it off the water till you get it fixed. You said summers are long, so don't risk killing your tranny just for a days riding.

Per the Velvet Drive manual. The adjustment is accomplished at the boat motor and transmission mounts ONLY. Also, do not lift or pry against the transmission output flange or coupling to move engine. Use a .003 feeler gage to check clearance. If you don't have a Velvet Drive manual and you are going to be working on your boat, get one. I have the one that came with my 88. If you have any questions email me. Good luck.

Nice pics, you don't see many of that style anymore.

Curt

If those big bolts really look that intimidating then you might want to consider a boat shop alignment. You adjust the line with the transmission mounts, you adjust the angle with the other mounts. You will need some big wrenches.