Rudder bearing replacement
Golden Rule
I'm the proud new owner of hull #92 and am in the process of making a few improvements over the long winter months. The Harken bearings that were in the boat are being retired and I need to install new rudder bearings. I'm sure there is a straightforward way to replace them and would appreciate advice from the owners group. Manufacturer would be great and also if spacers were used to facilitate holding the rudder in place. Thanks!
michaelaiellosr
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "J/92 Owners" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to j92owners+...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to j92o...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/j92owners.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Grizzly
michaelaiellosr
Joe Cooper
andyoeft .
Hi All,
I'm the proud new owner of hull #92 and am in the process of making a few improvements over the long winter months. The Harken bearings that were in the boat are being retired and I need to install new rudder bearings. I'm sure there is a straightforward way to replace them and would appreciate advice from the owners group. Manufacturer would be great and also if spacers were used to facilitate holding the rudder in place. Thanks!
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "J/92 Owners" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to j92owners+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
Joe Cooper
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to j92owners+...@googlegroups.com.
Todd Aven
Bruce Santerre
If you are replacing bushings and not bearings, here is what I learned when we replaced the bushings this past spring in our J92, hull #63. I used McMaster –Carr as the source for the material. This is what I used:
Ultra-Wear-Resistant PTFE-Filled Delrin® Acetal Resin—part number—8579K52
3” diameter, 1 ft.--$115.00
It appears that McMaster is now selling the material in shorter lengths; check their website.
You want the Delrin with PTFE. It is my understanding that PTFE prevents water absorption and subsequent swelling of the bushing which could lead to the rudder stock seizing in the bushing.
Top bushing: 1.86 (47 mm); bottom bushing—2” (51 mm)
I.D.—2.51” (63.89 mm)
O.D.—2.88” (73.16 mm)
It takes some doing to get the old bushings out but it is manageable. When you drop the rudder, the bottom bushing will stay in place because of a horizontal, metal keyway in a sleeve that locks the bushing in place in the rudder tube. By gently making a vertical cut in the old bushing, I was able to pull the bushing out. Save both old bushings for reference purposes. I also brought my rudder and the old bushings to the shop where I had the bushings turned so they could get an exact fit.
The one challenge I had was with the rudder stock when reassembling. The diameter of the rudder stock where the old bushings were, had worn down in diameter. The stock between the top and bottom bushing was slightly larger in diameter because of this. I used the old bushings as a “mold” for beefing up the areas on the rudder stock that had worn down over the 23 years of use. I sprayed the inside of the old bushings with hair spray to serve as a mold release, clamped the old busing on the rudder stock, used modeling clay to seal the bottom of the old bushing to prevent the slurry from running out the bottom, made a carbon fiber/epoxy slurry, and poured it between the inside surface of the bushing and the rudder stock. I sanded the “beefed-up” area and finished with a 600 grit. Even after doing this, I had to do some light sanding on the rudder stock between the upper and lower bearing in order for the rudder shaft to slide through the lower bearing when reassembling.
We are extremely pleased with the results. We’ve eliminated the slop in the helm that we previously had. This served us well during the 2016 Chi-Mac race when we experienced a night of thunderstorms rolling over the lake. All drivers felt they had better control and feel when pressing on a hard reach. I’m sure I may have forgotten a couple of steps in our process and feel free to contact me if you need additional info.
From: j92o...@googlegroups.com [mailto:j92o...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Joe Cooper
Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2016 7:46 AM
To: j92o...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [j92owners] Rudder bearing replacement
They are a slippery plastic, unsure of the material. By mechanical you mean something with balls or rollers in them? I think not. IT is all on their website-Tidesmarine dot com
On Nov 27, 2016, at 8:44 AM, andyoeft . <andy...@gmail.com> wrote:
Are these mechanical bearings or bushings of the delrin type? I have a pretty foolproof system for installing the delrin bearings created after much aggravation.
On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 3:23 PM, Golden Rule <johncu...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi All,
I'm the proud new owner of hull #92 and am in the process of making a few improvements over the long winter months. The Harken bearings that were in the boat are being retired and I need to install new rudder bearings. I'm sure there is a straightforward way to replace them and would appreciate advice from the owners group. Manufacturer would be great and also if spacers were used to facilitate holding the rudder in place. Thanks!
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "J/92 Owners" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to j92owners+...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to j92o...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/j92owners.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "J/92 Owners" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to j92owners+...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to j92o...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/j92owners.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.