# Damaged Prop or Lower Unit?



## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

If the props bent enought to vibrate id think you would see it,or you could hold something fixed off foot and spin the prop by hand to see if the blades are close to the same....Id pull the prop look at the collar that goes into the edge of foot to see if theres a noticeable amount of fresh wear ,and move the shaft from side to side to see if its got a lot of play,,my thoughts are if its not the prop you may have damaged a bearing ....but im not the mechanic @JC Designs and @Smackdaddy53 are ....so maybe they will chime in on this but pictures of prop might help.


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## JC Designs (Apr 5, 2020)

“Most” of the time an impact causing a bent shaft will be visible to the eye just by spinning the prop and looking at the end of the shaft. Sometimes, the bend can only be seen on a dial indicator though. If prop is suspect, a good prop shop can straighten it right up and have you on your way.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

If mine, I would hook up to garden hose and run it with the prop off and see if symptoms persist. Wouldn't run at high RPM though. You said it was more at idle and low speed which is good for testing


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## beabra (5 mo ago)

Could be a bent prop shaft. If so, you can spin the prop and watch the shaft. If its bent, it will wobble ever so slightly. If bent, it should get fixed because it will wear out the seals and could lead to loss of lower unit oil. Hopefully it is just a bent blade on your prop.


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## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

Post #3 pretty much sums it up 👍
If he hit hard enough to break the skeg,the prop more than likely hit hard enough to bend the shaft!
A simple concrete block set at prop with a Phillips screw driver pointing at center of shaft will show a wobble when props rotated


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## Reverse (Dec 9, 2017)

Thank you for all the replies, got my project for this weekend now


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