I have Gen 1 36 PD . Replaced seal and now winding the prop back on.. How tight should prop be to the lower nut seal? flush? 1/4? This rascal is tight tight now with 1/4" to go thanks

Sound like you got it

so I can go with this gap?

Did you put the bushing all the way on the shaft and then thread the prop onto it?

when I took prop off the aluminum collar stayed in the prop. so I just wound the prop/collar back on till it broke my persimmon cheetah bar... that bushing never fitted flush in the prop

what you think?

Need to take the collar out and put it on first, then tighten the prop onto it. It doesn't seem like it would make a difference but it does.


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You need to take it back off now. You should ALWAYS remove the bushing from the prop. Technically, you're only supposed to use the bushing once but I've used them a couple of times. The bushing needs to be put on the shaft, all the way until the shoulder bottoms out, then spin the prop onto the bushing. Supposed to put marine antiseize on the bushing but I liked regular grease myself.

Can you run that prop the way you have it right now, yes, BUT you will play absolute hell getting it back off next time. Best to take it off and put it back on right.

The inside of the prop and outside of the bushing is tapered. By putting the bushing on the shaft first, and spinning the prop onto the bushing, it clamps the busing onto the shaft and lets the bushing hold it. If the bushing isn't clamping the shaft correctly, the threads will take all of the abuse from hits and you run a greater potential of breaking the shaft off right were the threads stop.

thanks guys........will Napa or sorts have a collar like that or do I get from PD or Hopkins? that is a Hopkins prop

Prodrive only. Make sure you mention you have a Hopkins also, some weird shit has happened with the bore on them in the past matching up to the bushing. Not sure if it got straightened out...

Everything Will said x's 2.

With regards to a Hopkins prop, x's100.

I use marine grade Never Seize...it is 10 times better than the standard Never Seize. In the future, get you a few spare bushings, pull the prop off every so often and slap some Never Seize on all of it.

As for the Hopkins prop, I would bet a dollar to a donut that the tapered hub of your prop has not been polished. Well....unless it was one of the original props back when he was making the props for Prodrive. Since then, when he machines the taper, he moves his cutting tool too fast/takes too big of a bite.....basically, he gets in a rush. It leaves grooves and a not so smooth surface. The hub taper does not sit flush against the bushing. The prop will actually "rock" over the bushing causing the prop to go on off center....which will eventually lead to a sheared shaft.

As for his props...I can say I love my cleaver. But, this was after having to polish the taper and send it to Baggy to balance and make the flukes the same size. One fluke was longer than the other...making my motor want to vibrate off the transom....but, according to Hopkins, one fluke hitting the skeg and the other clearing the skeg while threading it on was the way the prop was designed. I may have been born at night...but, it wasn't last night.

Oh....and don't worry about how tight to thread it on....after a few log strikes and some hard bottom....it will thread itself on pretty snug!