Flex Shaft Seized

[wppracing]

I was running the boat at speed when I noticed it slowing down and then clunk, it stopped. Hit the throttle and nothing. Had to throw my 40ft tow strap at the boat and pull it in. I noticed the prop was tight against the washer and it didnt spin. Loosened the flex shaft fitting, left the prop on so I had something to hold onto and pulled the shaft out. The shaft was fused to the prop strut bushing. I geased the shaft every 1hr or so. I removed the bushing and cleaned the shaft , pressed the bushing back in and greased it up. ALL is working correctly now. I did call Horizon Hobby and talked to a tech and told him what happened. They said that they would send me all the parts needed to get it fixed at NO CHARGE. That is GREAT customer service. Here is a picture of the shaft.

[jac4412]

When did you buy this boat?

[wppracing]

3/20/2011

[Fluid]

If the cable wasn't twisted up, then you did not tighten the collet enough and the cable slipped forward - an indication of the thrust involved. With no gap between the drive dog and the strut it is not surprising you seized the bushing. And lubing the cable "every hour or so" is not enough. So you had two owner-caused problems, PB is being very liberal in their service, good for them. Unless you want the same result next time, I recommend you fix the 'problems'.



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[lectriglide]

With no gap between the drive dog and the strut it is not surprising you seized the bushing.

This is what Fluid is referring to. You should leave a gap at least the width of the cable between the drive dog and the strut.

[wppracing]

If the cable wasn't twisted up, then you did not tighten the collet enough and the cable slipped forward - an indication of the thrust involved. With no gap between the drive dog and the strut it is not surprising you seized the bushing. And lubing the cable "every hour or so" is not enough. So you had two owner-caused problems, PB is being very liberal in their service, good for them. Unless you want the same result next time, I recommend you fix the 'problems'.



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If you read the manual it says 1mm gap and lube the parts every 2-3 hrs. I made a gauge that sit on the cable and PROVIDES the correct gap and lubed it every hr or so.

[siberianhusky]

1mm isn't enough, as you found out, also need to lube the shaft more than avery couple of hours. Needs to be removed at the end of the day dried and lubed as well or it will rust.
THE MANUAL IS WRONG!

[wppracing]

I did increase the gap and lube it every battery change and when put away for the day. Ran it Sunday without any issues

[jac4412]

wpp, I think the rule of thumb is to grease your boat every 2-3 runs... So if youre running your boat similar to a stock setup that's like every 10-15 mins (considering youre only running your boat for 4-5 mins at a time). I only run mine on one charge when I go so I do it every day (running) days.. Thats 8 mins tops runtime. As for the gap, you need a tad more than 1 mm mate, the natural "flex" (a pun?) of the shaft will be pretty darn close to pulling into the tube like it did last time on each run. Congrats on the service though... I like proboat and HH.. seem to have decent customer service

[JPriami]

I've heard the gap should be about the thickness of the cable. Anyone else hear this?

[siberianhusky]

Thats a good safe bet, the shorter the cable the closer you can go but why bother, they work with no problems with about 3/16 for this cable size. One of those places you are better off erring on the side of caution.