Our prop falls out of the ballancer-Westerbeke

[krob2002]

Well, we finally got our Westerbeke 4 started and after running for about 5 minutes the prop shaft shakes out of the balancer. We would love a suggestion on how to fix this. It's just bizzare and there is no holes to bolt it onto the balancer. What are we missing?
4 weeks a counting until we sail out from Charleston, SC.
Katie

Sorry about the typo in the header.

[Maine Sail]

Do you mean the shaft coupling that bolts to the transmission and accepts the shaft?

A photo may help. If it is sliding out of a coupling you'll likely need a new one as the tolerances on the old one may be toast.

[krob2002]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

Do you mean the shaft coupling that bolts to the transmission and accepts the shaft?

A photo may help. If it is sliding out of a coupling you'll likely need a new one as the tolerances on the old one may be toast.

The shaft goes into the balancer and the balancer bolts to the transmission. The balancer has a keyway which matches the slot on the propshaft. The two retaining bolts screw into the balancer to grip the propshaft. There is nothing for them to grab but the smooth hard metal of the shaft. It vibrates out slowly in forward gear and comes out very quickly when in reverse.
We maybe able to get a picture tomorrow when we get the memory card for our camera.

[motion300]

That is a coupler you need a new one

[krob2002]

Thanks for the quick response. You guys are the greatest.