Got a new to me 9hp BT longtail. Ran it for the first time today. The upper bearing area got hotter than heck, way too hot to touch. I can see a thin layer of grease in the gap. Is it normal to run that hot?

Also when I pop the prop out of the water under load I get a loud clunk, get a loud click when I drop it back in. I checked the joint at it seemed ok. Anything else I can check?

I was pretty impressed with the motor, 9hp pushed me and a buddy in a 1754 GTB (can't wait for my PD motor) about 9mph.

I'm not familiar with the Beavertail. Is the upper bearing similar to the Go-Devil? I know you normally see grease coming out of the bearing when you grease it and some will sling off but you normally will see some remaining.

The clunk sound you hear is the slack in the prop. That is normal. When you install the prop you should only put it hand tight. If you put it too tight it will be a SOB to get off. Make sure when you remove it put marine never-seize before reinstalling.

if the pitch on the u joint is too steep, itll get hot as hell and burn the seals. try adding some washers to the front of the engine to lessen the degree of pitch on the u-joint. but they do get hot, like 140 degrees or so is normal.the guy that owns go devil told me taht. i have a 9hp gdlt that had the same problem, and i fixed it lessening the pitch.
shaun