Something everyone here should know....

[kfxguy]

I've talked to several people about this and I only bring this up because I was shocked to find out they don't bother with this or haven't thought about it......

When you grease or lube your flex shaft, as your sliding it back in the tube, the tip of it is collecting grease. Then if you slide it into the collet like that, you have grease in your collet....at the point where it's supposed to grip. Now. I've had boats that I didn't have any problems ommiting this crucial step, but it's always a good idea to clean the shaft before it goes into the collet. You never ever ever want grease in there. Especially in a high powered setup.

The way I do it is I get a rag and shoot some brake parts cleaner in a small area. I then slide greased shaft in, as I see it start to make its way out the stuffing tube, I rotate it slowly and push in slowly while wiping with the rag. It takes time and patience but I've had a boat dead out in the water because I ommited this step being lazy and it stripped my collet and end of my flex. So for now on, it's a good idea to do this. I know most of you veterans know this already, but for the guys who don't....take this advice and Use it. Also, you can scuff the tip of you flex with 60 or 80 grit and it will grip better.

[flraptor07]

I always clean the grease off my shaft and make it as dry as I can....

[Spartanator]

I always clean the grease off my shaft and make it as dry as I can....

Gotta keep that shaft clean ya' know! lol

[785boats]

I guess it's strange how we tend to take some things for granted & just assume that everyone else does the same thing because it just seems so damn logical.
Good point to bring up for those that have not heard of it.
Baby wipes work well too. And the moist towelettes in the sachets from KFC. So I've heard.

[ChevyPrerunner]

Great point, I've never wiped it clean before sliding it into the collet. Another step well worth the reward!

Thanks

[kfxguy]

I guess it's strange how we tend to take some things for granted & just assume that everyone else does the same thing because it just seems so damn logical.
Good point to bring up for those that have not heard of it.
Baby wipes work well too. And the moist towelettes in the sachets from KFC. So I've heard.

Well when I first got into this I sold my shocker and forgot to tell the guy who bought it about this. Stripped the flex and collet in a quick hurry.

[Bduncan]

or you can shrink wrap tip but not too "shrunk" if you will push it into collet which will grab shrink wrap and remove

[Bduncan]

I was kidding. Travis has space age tolerances on his shafts where they meet the collet.

[flraptor07]

All joking aside Travis, great point! I'm sure a lot of the guys on here never thought about it.

[DBJr]

I never thought about this either but you can bet I will from now on. Had my Blackjack 24 flex come loose 3 times. I've got a new coupler coming and hopefully the flex isn't stripped. The end seems to be fine so we'll see but then again I'm not sure what a flex with a stripped end looks like.

I noticed that when I removed the coupler from the motor that it was full of grease.

[kfxguy]

I figured there would be a few people that don't think about that one little detail! I think this thread should be a sticky.

[dmitry100]

It's logical to think grease can make the collet slip ... but wouldn't any excess grease would just come out of the ends though? Especially if the collet is really tight... Maybe I haven't gotten to the point of flex slippage yet... but I always wonder if i'm overtightening it being that the mbp collets are aluminum afterall-- threads can prob easily strip.

[ChevyPrerunner]

I always wonder if i am over tightening the Collet on my FE boats as well.. I go until it won't budge, hope that's the way to do it lol. I don't wanna loose another Flex with Prop..

[tlandauer]

I think Travis brought up something which is obvious and yet is overlooked by many people precisely for the very reason you just mentioned. It is almost impossible to eliminate grease from the collet end, regardless how you look at the situation. When you lube the cable, after you push thru it there will be grease on it. His cleaning method does ensure "grease-free"----as much as possible anyway.
I personally like to dab anti-seize compound between the inside of the collet nut and the outside of the prongs------very sparingly applied. On non-aluminum collets, it really reduces the friction which mainly is metal-to-metal galling. This helps you to further tighten the collet nut and the grip is MUCH increased.
On the MBP clutch type, it doesn't harm to do the same, but you are correct, one must keep in mind that it is aluminum and the feed back from your hand is important. Since it is well machined, it will tell you when to stop---just use common sense and you won't break it. Also keep in mind that the aluminum is almost like self - lubricating, there is no galling so it requires MUCH LESS effort to reach to a point where sufficient grip is obtained.

[dasboata]

Something everyone here should know....

Never have I worried about that , with my gas boats . I check my shafts at the lake after a tank or 2 . I use Aeromarine squeeze collects I run 1/4" shafts . If a collect slips it will fill the groves in and not squeeze tight any more . The remedy for this is to clean out the groves and replace the shaft


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