Do I have binding in the prop shaft?

[mocars2]

I've got a GP Stinger ss used and put a new ESC in it ( it didn't have one) and when I was trying it out I was stupid and turned off the transmitter and the boat came full blast into the rocks. I broke the rudder and loosened the screw on the prop ( I think it's a stock prop).
Well I got the rudder fixed and now the Stinger motor is really running hot and I think there might be binding in the shaft but It seems to turn pretty freely by hand. When I'm running it on the boat stand the prop rod doesn't seem like it wobbles.
So how do I know or tell if I've got binding? Would a shot like that do damage to the prop shaft or the tube? Should I just get a new shaft and see?
Any ideas?

[Hydro Junkie]

If it didn't get hot before, you may have a binding problem. If I remember right, it uses a solid shaft, so I would pull out the shaft, remove the prop and try to roll the shaft across a table. If it's bent, replace it and see what happens. If it's not bent, you need to look at the hull for anywhere along the stuffing tube area for damage or distortions. If none are found, put the shaft back in, slowly. Any bend or distorsion in the stuffing tube should show up as a sudden increase of force needed to install the shaft. Check for alignment with the motor when the shaft is that far into the boat. Any misalignments will cause drag and binding. If everything checks out, pull the shaft back and slowly hand spin the motor shaft, as the impact may have jarred the motor. If that checks out, run the motor on the bench with the shaft disconnected and see if it heats up. If not, hook up the shaft and run it again. If it does, it's time to do some serious investigating. If it still doesn't heat up, take it to the lake and try it again. If it heats up under load, then we can address it afterwards

[mocars2]

Thanks for the reply. I pulled the shaft and it's straight, but the shaft was scratched at the point where it's coming out of the tube on the motor side. If I run the boat on the stand and slightly pull up on the motor, it does pick up speed but what seems strange to me is the shaft goes right on the motor perfectly, so why would there be any binding there?

[Hydro Junkie]

On any boat drive train, it doesn't take a lot to loose power. Is the tube metal with bushings or just plastic. I don't have one, so I have to ask.

[BoatDoc]

you may be able to polish out the scratch in the shaft with some 600 or 800 grit sand paper. i've done it a few times and it won't damage the shaft.

[mocars2]

I polished the shaft with some metal polish in a drill - it helped but it's not perfect but a lot better. the shaft tube has no bushings it's just a brass tube no boots, bushings or plastic.

[mocars2]

I was just reading a post from someone that was having gliching problem and scratches at the end of the shaft also where it comes out of the tube. They all suggested a flex coupler. OK - how does that work? I assume that the flex helps if the motor and shaft are not in perfect aligment keep off the sides of the tube - am I right? If so why are there solid coupler? What's the purpose for those? What kind do I get??

[mocars2]

Well - I double checked the shaft and while rolling it - it looked straight but slowly rotating it while it was in the stuffing box - I saw it was bent. I grabbed a proboat sundancer's prop shaft that I had - brand new - and it was a bit short so I put a sundancer drivedog and joint in and the joint popped out on the motor side. Any tips on how to hold it in? Are they to lock in because this one on the motor side can slip out with no force at all - is that normal for drivdogs?

[Hydro Junkie]

Not that I know of. My recommendation is to get a new shaft from GP and install it. If everything runs good after that, then you can start doing mods.