Whirlwind 300 series composite prop issue on my RV14

[cjs]

Want to bring to light an issue I am having with the 300 series three-bladed Whirlwind composite prop on my RV14: Scoring of the hub from the rubber gaskets. Bottom line, so far its a Cluster F and I am not sure how it will resolve.

Background Info:
RV14 with IO-390 Thunderbolt - about 620 hours TTAF and prop. I finished the plane and first flight was in late 2020. Other than this issue - I have loved the prop. Looks great and performs great (top speed 191 knots, ROC +/-2000'/min.



Initial Issue
At about 570 hours the prop started spitting grease on the windscreen. Not a lot, but in about a 3 hour flight it would leave a lot of specks on the windscreen.



Finally, about 30 hours later (after consulting with Whirlwind during this time) I sent it in to JDW props in Ohio - a well regarded service center according to Whirlwind and others - for a rebuild. Was supposed to be pretty straight-forward, and would take about 1-2 weeks and run about $1-2K all in unless there was something unusual.

A Bit More Detail
Coming up on seven weeks now with no firm resolution in sight. JDW has been quasi-ghosting me - its been very difficult to get updates from them, and they have not been forthcoming with whom I can contact at Hartzell for more info (now that Hartzell owns Whirlwind and Whirlwind has shut down its San Diego offices and apparently moved in with Hartzell in Ohio). According to JDW, Hartzell now has my hub. What I do know is that the rubber O-rings on the hub have apparently scored the hub (see photo below) and this is the root issue of the grease leakage - this is apparently an issue that cropped up in the early production models on the 300 series and a couple other models (that, at least is what I was told JDW).



Yes, those grooves above were scored into the aluminum hub by the rubber gasket.

That said, early this year when I inspected my prop as part of my annual, Whirlwind told me that the slight leakage I had seen (only inside the nose cone around the interface of the hub with each blade - see pics) was most likely due to the 'old' spec grease that was used on my early production model, and that this had been addressed with the new spec grease. They didn't mention the 'scoring issue' at all. I was not aware of a 'scoring issue' until JDW had the prop and had disassembled it as part of the inspection/rebuild process.






The two pics above are from my last annual when I initially noticed the grease leakage in the nose cone.

JDW told me Whirlwind has known about the scoring issue and had developed a fix that involved sleeving the aluminum hub with a steel sleeve - I suppose the idea is that the rubber gasket would not score the steel as it did the aluminum. So, JDW has apparently sent my hub to Hartzell to have this done. At this point, I can't seem to find out how long this will take, let alone whether Hartzell or me will be footing the bill. I've been trying to get a direct contact at Hartzell, but to no avail.

As I know more I will update this thread.

 

[Tandem46]

Craig, do you mind posting a wider shot of that last photo that would show entire hub.
Thanks

 

[Desert Rat]

It's interesting in light of the time in service you listed.

The original marketing material for this prop called for a teardown inspection at 650 hours but when mine arrived the data sheet said 500 hours. When I questioned WW on the discrepancy they told me it had always been 500 hours even though I sent them a picture of the data sheet for one of the earlier serial numbers that had the 650 number in black and white.

Good luck, I hope you have a good resolution to this.

 

[Gabe214]

I have a 330-2B/72H-C-R on my RV-8 (180hp O-360) that was spitting small amounts of grease onto the windscreen for about 20 hours and then quit. (Started at 10 hours SNEW) I called Whirlwind and they told me to keep an eye on it but it shouldn’t be a problem. They said if it started spitting out a lot more then I’d have to take it off and send it to California. This was about a month or so before Hartzell bought out whirlwind. I hope I don’t run into a problem down the line with mine. I’m about 220 hours in now and haven’t seen anymore notable grease. None on the windscreen anymore at least!!!! Hopefully there’s a solution that can come about! I’m interested to see if there are any others with this problem.

 

[erich weaver]

Want to bring to light an issue I am having with the 300 series three-bladed Whirlwind composite prop on my RV14: Scoring of the hub from the rubber gaskets. Bottom line, so far its a Cluster F and I am not sure how it will resolve.

Background Info:
RV14 with IO-390 Thunderbolt - about 620 hours TTAF and prop. I finished the plane and first flight was in late 2020. Other than this issue - I have loved the prop. Looks great and performs great (top speed 191 knots, ROC +/-2000'/min.

View attachment 73269

Initial Issue
At about 570 hours the prop started spitting grease on the windscreen. Not a lot, but in about a 3 hour flight it would leave a lot of specks on the windscreen.

View attachment 73271

Finally, about 30 hours later (after consulting with Whirlwind during this time) I sent it in to JDW props in Ohio - a well regarded service center according to Whirlwind and others - for a rebuild. Was supposed to be pretty straight-forward, and would take about 1-2 weeks and run about $1-2K all in unless there was something unusual.

A Bit More Detail
Coming up on seven weeks now with no firm resolution in sight. JDW has been quasi-ghosting me - its been very difficult to get updates from them, and they have not been forthcoming with whom I can contact at Hartzell for more info (now that Hartzell owns Whirlwind and Whirlwind has shut down its San Diego offices and apparently moved in with Hartzell in Ohio). According to JDW, Hartzell now has my hub. What I do know is that the rubber O-rings on the hub have apparently scored the hub (see photo below) and this is the root issue of the grease leakage - this is apparently an issue that cropped up in the early production models on the 300 series and a couple other models (that, at least is what I was told JDW).

View attachment 73273

Yes, those grooves above were scored into the aluminum hub by the rubber gasket.

That said, early this year when I inspected my prop as part of my annual, Whirlwind told me that the slight leakage I had seen (only inside the nose cone around the interface of the hub with each blade - see pics) was most likely due to the 'old' spec grease that was used on my early production model, and that this had been addressed with the new spec grease. They didn't mention the 'scoring issue' at all. I was not aware of a 'scoring issue' until JDW had the prop and had disassembled it as part of the inspection/rebuild process.


View attachment 73274

View attachment 73275

The two pics above are from my last annual when I initially noticed the grease leakage in the nose cone.

JDW told me Whirlwind has known about the scoring issue and had developed a fix that involved sleeving the aluminum hub with a steel sleeve - I suppose the idea is that the rubber gasket would not score the steel as it did the aluminum. So, JDW has apparently sent my hub to Hartzell to have this done. At this point, I can't seem to find out how long this will take, let alone whether Hartzell or me will be footing the bill. I've been trying to get a direct contact at Hartzell, but to no avail.

As I know more I will update this thread.

I feel your pain. It’s been tough to get Whirlwind props serviced since the buyout.

Trevor Parker (user name TParker), an engineer at Hartzell, responded to a previous post of mine regarding my 200RV prop. Perhaps you can try contacting him by direct message or other means to find out what is going on with your prop. At least you have a name to work with. The previous thread that he posted to is here:

Prop shop recommendation?

Hey all My Whirlwind 200RV prop started spitting grease yesterday. I have 830 hrs on it and it was previously resealed at about 400 hrs. Need to pick a prop shop for a reseal and there isn’t a lot to choose from in California. American Propeller in Redding doesn’t work on Whirlwinds any more...

vansairforce.net

 

[cjs]

I feel your pain. It’s been tough to get Whirlwind props serviced since the buyout.

Trevor Parker (user name TParker), an engineer at Hartzell, responded to a previous post of mine regarding my 200RV prop. Perhaps you can try contacting him by direct message or other means to find out what is going on with your prop. At least you have a name to work with. The previous thread that he posted to is here:

Prop shop recommendation?

Hey all My Whirlwind 200RV prop started spitting grease yesterday. I have 830 hrs on it and it was previously resealed at about 400 hrs. Need to pick a prop shop for a reseal and there isn’t a lot to choose from in California. American Propeller in Redding doesn’t work on Whirlwinds any more...

vansairforce.net

Thanks for the lead - I’ll try that.

 

[cjs]

I have a 330-2B/72H-C-R on my RV-8 (180hp O-360) that was spitting small amounts of grease onto the windscreen for about 20 hours and then quit. (Started at 10 hours SNEW) I called Whirlwind and they told me to keep an eye on it but it shouldn’t be a problem. They said if it started spitting out a lot more then I’d have to take it off and send it to California. This was about a month or so before Hartzell bought out whirlwind. I hope I don’t run into a problem down the line with mine. I’m about 220 hours in now and haven’t seen anymore notable grease. None on the windscreen anymore at least!!!! Hopefully there’s a solution that can come about! I’m interested to see if there are any others with this problem.

View attachment 73282

View attachment 73281View attachment 73280

Gabe21,
Couple thoughts sparked by your post…
First - My prop spit grease like yours in that once it started spitting, it seemed to ease up after a bit. I can’t recall the exact details of the calls w the Whirlwind guys during this time but my recollection was that the ‘old spec’ grease was supposedly more prone to ‘separation’ and the spitting of the grease I was seeing on the windscreen was due to the more liquidy part of the separated grease making it past the seal. I was told it wasn’t a serious hazard and waiting until my annual to overhaul the prop shouldn’t be a big deal.

At any rate, the grease spitting did ease up which is why I accumulated another 50 hours (about three months) of flying before sending it in.

Backing up a bit - for the first approx 400 hours there was no grease leakage at all. I know this as I took pics at each annual when I inspected the prop. At about 450 hours I noticed a minor amount of grease inside the nose cone - similar to the pic I posted initially, but much less and only on one of the blades at its root. Whirlwind said this was normal and not an issue to worry about - just to monitor it to see if it got more severe.

Lastly, for whatever it’s worth knowing - the prop never behaved abnormally even up to the time I sent it in.

 

[cjs]

Craig, do you mind posting a wider shot of that last photo that would show entire hub.
Thanks, Tobin

Tandem,
I don’t have another pic. JDW actually sent this one me when they initially did the tear down. It’s the only pic I have of it, and I feel lucky to have received it.

Maybe worth mentioning, personally I’m still somewhat surprised that a rubber gasket could score the aluminum to this degree. And, JDW said the gaskets themselves were still in good shape. I know aluminum is a soft metal - but, it’s still a bit surprising. I’d love to know what mechanical action between the gasket and the hub is happening, and during what operating phase, that would allow for this wear to occure.

Craig

 

[iwannarv]

Did WW start implementing the steel sleeve 'fix' in new production props at a certain date? I have a stored WW300 and wonder how it falls on production date vs fix date, if there was a specific serial # break.

 

[cjs]

Did WW start implementing the steel sleeve 'fix' in new production props at a certain date? I have a stored WW300 and wonder how it falls on production date vs fix date, if there was a specific serial # break.

I don’t know. The only information I have is from JDW - nothing directly from either Whirlwind or Hartzell on this. The two primary things I can’t seem to get a response on are when the prop will be returned to me or how much it will cost. Of course, additionally, I’d like more background on the whole scoring issue.

I’ll post if/when I receive anything on these.

 

[cactusman]

Sounds like Hartzell bought out the competition and their solution is gonna be to tell you to buy a more expensive replacement prop.

I was afraid of this.

 

[dmattmul]

I had no issues working with Jay resealing after my WW started spitting grease. This started when after 200 hrs. it sat at the paint shop for 6 months and the grease separated. Fairly common to all prop manufactures. When I called around seems most shops that can reseal a McCauley prop can do a WW. (Similar design)

WW has come out with some updates to their design of the 300 in the last few years. One is the addition of HDPE "spacers" in between the bearings (reduces the number of bearings in each prop) and the replacement of the spindle shaft spacer (Shown below in white Teflon like material) with a CNC aluminum piece.

Would love to see more pics (Wider angle) of the issue. Very hard to tell where this pic is even taken of the hub.

 

[isosceles]

I had a simillar failure of my mt prop (heavy aerobatic use) and i'm not alone. I've heard stories about mt prop hubs go bad because of the o-ring seals fretting or something like that. WW at least is less expensive than mt...

 

[WhirlWind Propellers]

CJS

JDW sent your Hub to WhirlWind Propellers (Hartzell) in Piqua, OH to be updated to the latest version of the 300 Series hub system.

A little background, early in the production cycle of the 300 Series hubs, a hardened wear-ring was added to the hub's blade sockets to reduce hub wear from the blade seal. This wear-ring has proven to be effective in eliminating this wear as seen in your hub. The additional advantage is that the wear-ring can be replaced if needed (though so far we have not had to replace any wear-rings to date).

I would expect your hub upgrade to be completed very soon at Hartzell and sent back to JDW for completetion. The WWP/Hartzell team is working very hard on completing the WhirlWind production, sales and service transition from California to its new home in Ohio. There have been a few unanticipated time delays, but things are moving forward very well now.

Regards,
Jim

 

[Pdp7427]

CJS

JDW sent your Hub to WhirlWind Propellers (Hartzell) in Piqua, OH to be updated to the latest version of the 300 Series hub system.

A little background, early in the production cycle of the 300 Series hubs, a hardened wear-ring was added to the hub's blade sockets to reduce hub wear from the blade seal. This wear-ring has proven to be effective in eliminating this wear as seen in your hub. The additional advantage is that the wear-ring can be replaced if needed (though so far we have not had to replace any wear-rings to date).

I would expect your hub upgrade to be completed very soon at Hartzell and sent back to JDW for completetion. The WWP/Hartzell team is working very hard on completing the WhirlWind production, sales and service transition from California to its new home in Ohio. There have been a few unanticipated time delays, but things are moving forward very well now.

Regards,
Jim

Good info for you on what’s going on, and good info for everyone else too, thanks for sharing the updates.

 

[IO390]

I have had consistent problems with my WW300 spitting out these plastic shims. This first occurred around 100 hours, and so WW said the prop is safe to use as is but sent me some replacement shims.

By the time I got around to fitting them (180hrs) the first shim had popped out again and a second one was beginning to work its way out as shown in this photo.

WW said the shims they sent me were slightly thicker, and they were quite difficult to install. I hope these thicker shims solve the problem however I am concerned now that the prop seems to be actuating more slowly - perhaps due to extra friction from these new shims. The problem is that they are installed so tightly that it will be difficult for me to remove the circlips to replace them again. I’m a bit concerned about these problems so early on.

I have not had any grease slinging problems though.

 

[Ironflight]

I have had consistent problems with my WW300 spitting out these plastic shims. This first occurred around 100 hours, and so WW said the prop is safe to use as is but sent me some replacement shims.

By the time I got around to fitting them (180hrs) the first shim had popped out again and a second one was beginning to work its way out as shown in this photo.

WW said the shims they sent me were slightly thicker, and they were quite difficult to install. I hope these thicker shims solve the problem however I am concerned now that the prop seems to be actuating more slowly - perhaps due to extra friction from these new shims. The problem is that they are installed so tightly that it will be difficult for me to remove the circlips to replace them again. I’m a bit concerned about these problems so early on.

I have not had any grease slinging problems though.



View attachment 73520

I honestly haven’t worked on the shims on my 300’s (I have a couple), but I played with the shims on the older -151 a LOT back when I had it, and as I recall, there was a thin metal “washer” (same ID and OD as the shims) that went between the plastic shim and the lock ring to keep the shims captured. That’s just FYI from a previous model.

 

[cjs]

CJS

JDW sent your Hub to WhirlWind Propellers (Hartzell) in Piqua, OH to be updated to the latest version of the 300 Series hub system.

A little background, early in the production cycle of the 300 Series hubs, a hardened wear-ring was added to the hub's blade sockets to reduce hub wear from the blade seal. This wear-ring has proven to be effective in eliminating this wear as seen in your hub. The additional advantage is that the wear-ring can be replaced if needed (though so far we have not had to replace any wear-rings to date).

I would expect your hub upgrade to be completed very soon at Hartzell and sent back to JDW for completetion. The WWP/Hartzell team is working very hard on completing the WhirlWind production, sales and service transition from California to its new home in Ohio. There have been a few unanticipated time delays, but things are moving forward very well now.

Regards,
Jim

Jim,
Thanks for the update and for responding on the forum as well. I was getting a bit frustrated as you could no doubt tell from my post - and, your response has done much to alleviate my concerns, and I hope those for others as well.
Overall, I want to reiterate I’ve been a big fan of the 300 series prop - it looks great and has performed very well. I’m anxiously awaiting its return so I can get back in the air.
Regards,
Craig

 

[jclark]

Sounds like Hartzell bought out the competition and their solution is gonna be to tell you to buy a more expensive replacement prop.

I was afraid of this.

That is NOT consistent with the people that I have worked with at Hartzell.

 

[iwannarv]

Appreciated response, Jim. Is there a serial # break when the wear rings were implemented?

 

[moespeeds]

I had a similar issue, looked a lot like yours after about 70 hours. I had engine oil leaking out of the front of my hub, along with grease around the blades and spinner. Seemed much worse after any kind of aerobatics.

I had to send it out for overhaul to JDW in OH and it's been good for about 25 hours.

More Photos here: https://vansairforce.net/threads/ww-300rv-leaking-grease.229245/#post-1788371

 

[cjs]

Thought I’d post an update since it’s about 10 weeks ago I sent the prop in to JDW.

Bottom line, still no prop and still no ETA. Also, still no answer on cost.

Last comm from Hartzell was the one in this thread - I’ve had no direct comm from them in spite of my reaching out. JDW has only communicated to let me know they don’t know eta.

Needless to say, at 10-plus weeks without a plane to fly (and, no end in sight), I’m very frustrated.

Craig

 

[storm_pilot]

I was thinking of going with a WW prop. After reading this I’ll keep thinking. Nothing worse than poor customer support and lack of follow up.

 

[PilotjohnS]

I was thinking of going with a WW prop. After reading this I’ll keep thinking. Nothing worse than poor customer support and lack of follow up.

I almost switched out my Catto fixed for a WW after Osh this year. I choked on the price and had my Catto repitched and it is working very well. Without doing the switch, I gave up probabaly 300 fpm more climb but not much else. So I, too, am happy I didnt switch to WW.

 

[Tandem46]

Needless to say, at 10-plus weeks without a plane to fly (and, no end in sight), I’m very frustrated.

Craig

Craig, any update?

 

[cjs]

Tandem 46,

Funny you should ask!
Just (finally!) received the prop back (Thursday afternoon). Almost three (3) months to the day since I sent it in.

I still have not been presented with an invoice (maybe this is a good thing?). JDW had originally indicated the rebuild would be about $1200 (nic the shipping back and forth). Not sure what the hartzell cost will be.

All this said, I haven’t seen the prop in the flesh as I’m traveling. As I write this I’m in cattle class on United awaiting departure back to Eugene. (Please God let me get WM back in the air before I stick a fork in my eye!)

Monday, SynergyAir in Eugene will give me a hand putting the prop back on. I’ll get to see the new hub (w sleeves) first hand. Hope to be back in the air by Wednesday.

I’ll update if there’s any relevant news or when I see the bill. And, give a wrap up on the whole experience.

Craig

 

[cjs]

Well…
The drama continues.

Got the prop back and by last Monday had it back on the plane (thanks Synergy Air guys for the help w this) so we could do the post-installation protocol to verify all was good. This involves, amongst other things, a run-up sequence and then a 20 min flight close to the airfield to check all is operating properly and finally a post flight pulling of the spinner to inspect the prop to ensure nothing amiss.

All went well, the plane flew great - at least until the post-flight inspection.

This is when we discovered, on one of the blades, the split ring washer between the hub and the prop was working its way out (see pics below). It was not in this condition when we did the pre-flight inspection of the hub.




The top pic shows what the ring looked like upon post-flight inspection. Second pic is a close-up - but, by this time we had manipulated the ring by pushing on it a bit. It was easy to force it in/out of place. Overall, this seemed like something to be concerned about.

Was able to get a hold of Hartzell (very responsive and a productive conversation) - but, it’s clear the issue isn’t directly related to the re-sleeving of the hub (the work Hartzell did). It is related to the rebuild/reassembly. Subsequently, we spoke with someone at Whirlwind who indicated the ring simply may not have been seated properly.

So, we’re working thru all this right now.

So very frustrating. As a side note I’d had a prop balance scheduled in independence, OR (Jim Burns, does great work) and subsequent flight to Seattle for a quick meeting - all less than three hours of flying. Instead, it was jump in the jeep for a 13 hour round trip. Sucks not having the plane. Just whining - but, three months without the plane has me very much looking forward to getting it back up. The 20 mins in the air were delightful - though they did reinforce how quickly the piloting skills are relegated from intuitive to ones that require a bit more focus. The good thing is they seem to come back quickly.

I’ll update as things progress. At this point we plan to reseat the ring ourselves using the guidance from Whirlwind. If we are not comfortable with the result - we’ll likely pull it (the prop), pack it, and send it back for a do over. Arrrggghh.

 

[IO390]

This is when we discovered, on one of the blades, the split ring washer between the hub and the prop was working its way out (see pics below). It was not in this condition when we did the pre-flight inspection of the hub.

See my post above. My WW300 did this on two blades. It seems to be an issue with the design, whereby if the split in the plastic ring gets moved around to the thinner part of the circlip, the end can pop out. I've fitted two new shims which was pretty difficult to be honest but they've stayed in place so far.

 

[Ironflight]

I haven’t had to work on our -300 at all, but I did a lot of re-shimming on the -151 over the years. It appears to me (if I recall correctly), that the gold ring is actually the retention ring (and should have some holes for a circuit pliers, and the black ring that is popping out is a “soft” shim. Is that correct? Just trying to understand the configuration (since I have two -300’s in service….).

Paul

 

[IO390]

I haven’t had to work on our -300 at all, but I did a lot of re-shimming on the -151 over the years. It appears to me (if I recall correctly), that the gold ring is actually the retention ring (and should have some holes for a circuit pliers, and the black ring that is popping out is a “soft” shim. Is that correct? Just trying to understand the configuration (since I have two -300’s in service….).

Paul

Yes that's exactly the configuration. I'm not sure how much the plastic shim is doing. Hopefully not a great deal since mine have mostly been partially missing! I'm overall very happy with the propeller but this part of the design does not seem fit for purpose to me.

 

[dmattmul]

My black plastic shim joining section is under the widest part of the gold ring. I'm not sure if that has helped it stay in place better. Seems some sort of light duty adhesive might help but I'm not going to go down that path without the manufacture's guidance. It's held in place with just friction. Looks to me that the pictures show it could pop out anytime. The shims come in a variety of thicknesses, maybe something slightly thicker would help? I due pre-flight the airframe and pull and push on the tips to ensure the shim is still there and stays in place. Performance has been exceptional.

 

[clarenceoveur]

I almost switched out my Catto fixed for a WW after Osh this year. I choked on the price and had my Catto repitched and it is working very well. Without doing the switch, I gave up probabaly 300 fpm more climb but not much else. So I, too, am happy I didnt switch to WW.

Dang, I was about to put in my order for a WW300 for my RV9 conversion to CS but I guess I'll look at the alternatives a little closer first!

 

[Gabe214]

Dang, I was about to put in my order for a WW300 for my RV9 conversion to CS but I guess I'll look at the alternatives a little closer first!

I’ve had good use out of my 330-2B so far on my -8. Had some minor grease leaking but other than that it’s been great.

 

[cjs]

Brief update.

Finally got the prop up and running last week. Have about 10 hours on it now. All seems to be working well and performance appears to be normal in all respects. Split ring is staying in place and no grease is leaking out.

First flight after check out was to independence, OR to see Jeff Burns and have it balanced. End result was .02/sec. Even better than before. Prop is very smooth.

Flew down to the Bay Area (SF) and back and again all was well.



Big take-aways:
1. I still very much like the Whirlwind Prop. Great performance and it looks good hanging on the nose.

2. Most of the CF around the rebuild was due to three things:

Timing - My prop needed a rebuild just as Whirlwind was packing up to move to Ohio last September (due to being acquired by Hartzell).

The rebuild outfit: They had some issues. Speak w Hartzell directly and they will steer you to a shop when your time comes. Hartzells tech guys were very helpful. As was Jim w Whirlwind.

Finally, since mine was one of the very early 300 series for the RV14, it needed to have the aluminum hub sleeved with a metal collar. This certainly added to the complexity of the rebuild.

Craig

 

[Tandem46]

Craig,
Very happy to hear all appears to be well with your prop. I wonder at what point WW started sleeving aluminum hub with a steel sleeve? Mine was ordered Jan/Feb ‘23, delivered late March ‘23 so assuming mine is from after the fix/mod.

 

[cjs]

Craig,
Very happy to hear all appears to be well with your prop. I wonder at what point WW started sleeving aluminum hub with a steel sleeve? Mine was ordered Jan/Feb ‘23, delivered late March ‘23 so assuming mine is from after the fix/mod.

Tandem46,
I don't know when WW changed to supplying the hubs with the metal sleeves. I am reluctant to say much on the whole subject simply because most of the info I have is hearsay. My guess, from what I have been told, is your prop is likely sleeved - but, I would assume a quick call the WW would confirm this.

 

[clarenceoveur]

Tandem46,
I don't know when WW changed to supplying the hubs with the metal sleeves. I am reluctant to say much on the whole subject simply because most of the info I have is hearsay. My guess, from what I have been told, is your prop is likely sleeved - but, I would assume a quick call the WW would confirm this.

CJS, have you had any more problems with the prop? I hope all is well now.