Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi guys....

Tomorrow, (or Thursday), I'm going to be going to the lake to put on a new prop. Thanks to the help I received on this forum I'm hoping that I have chosen the correct prop for best performance.
I'm also going to be installing a "tiny tach" so that I will know if I've chosen the right prop. My boat's tach doesn't work and it seems that having an accurate tach is very important when running an outboard. I did test the tach tonight on my lawn mower and it gave me a reading of 3190 to 3200 on a John Deere/Briggs v twin spec of 3200. I was pretty pleased with that.

My question tonight concerns the proper torque for a new prop. According to what I've read I should torque the prop nut to 55 foot pounds but unfortunately I have no idea what I've done with my torque wrench. I had both an inch lb. and foot lb. wrench but now both are missing. I'd say that at some point I loaned them out and never received them back.
How much do you guys tighten a prop?
I've read that some people just snug them up while others tighten them down firmly. I can give a pretty decent estimate of what 55 foot lbs. should be, but at the same time I don't want to screw anything up. Sometimes I get a little "ambitious" when it comes to tightening things down.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

Tighten till it's snug and then turn (tighten) to the next tab slot. Just make sure that the prop is pulled all the way in.

What I do is really wrench the prop down tight, then loosen and snug it as above.

Make sure the the shaft, thrust washer and threads are greased really good. Use marine wheel bearing grease (the red stuff) or white lithium.

Thanks for the information, Boatcop.
I hope to get the new one put on tonight or tomorrow and I'll use your procedure.