Reason to pay attention.

So i had my prop rebuilt and went to put it back on this evening. In doing so i realized the people that had the prop on before me barely had the prop on the shaft. Being that the nut was just barely on the shaft. When i torqued it down and got it where it was suppose to be the whole thing fits better. My guess is that other then the obvious that the prop would fly off and be a huge danger amoung many other little things, that the lack of retention on the prop was causing me a loss in power. Wouldnt the fact that it was most likely able to slide to the end of the shaft instead of staying in place and giving it the torque it needs would lose some power and torque.well hopefully weds i can atleast go get my bunk boards replaced and get to play around in the water. Its a 85 force 85hp motor if anyone else out there has this motor you may want to check that nut according to the guy i got the prop redone at, this is a common problem when people reuse the nut and dont get it torqued and retained. Since it doesnt have the lock washer under it like other brands do.

Thought i would share my learning experience in order to help others keep from becoming injured in anyway.

Re: Reason to pay attention.

The prop is a spline drive. The splines are long enough so that even with the nut at the limit of its travel, the splines are engaged. So, a loose prop will not cause loss of performance--forward thrust will keep it hard against the thrust washer. The danger is if the nut falls off and you put the engine in reverse. the prop will slide off the shaft and usually in 100 feet of murky water. Either use a new prop nut, or drill the end of the prop shaft for a cotter to keep the nut from unscrewing. If you are truly worried, buy a Vortex prop and use a mercury hub with nut retainer. With very little modification, this assembly can be made to fit the Force lower unit.

Having a number of Chrysler and Force engines with many hours, I can tell you I reuse the prop nuts many times and torque them down "grunt" tight. I have yet to have one back off or lose a prop. --Hope I haven't jinxed myself!

A couple of my engines do have an extended shaft and tailcone. On these engines, if the nut did come loose, the tailcone would prevent it from walking all the way off the threads.