Rudder Removal

[james2034]

Hi Jim,

I feel your pain. I was in exactly your position when I first took the job on. It took a friend and me a couple of days, working on and off it, to get the pin free of the tiller arm.

Once the screws are removed, soak the pin in penetrating oil often.

Use a combination of puller tools (you can often rent them at an auto parts store), the biggest pry bars you can find, and (what finally got it to free for me) a portable press kit from Harbor Freight:
https://www.harborfreight.com/4-ton-portable-hydraulic-equipment-kit-58204.html

I was able to separate the tiller assembly halves enough with the pry bars and puller tools to insert the expanding jaws of the portable press between the tiller halves. From there, we worked the pry bars and press slowly on each side in order to fully separate the halves from the pin.

The pin was demolished by the time we were through. I had a machine shop make me a new pin that is a few .001’s smaller in diameter out of 316 SS. I keep it well lubed with waterproof grease and the pin easily slides out now when I drop the rudder to inspect it.

Good luck!

Thanks
I'll keep soaking it over the next week. I'll buy the press and work the problem as you recommended.
I'll let you know next week how it goes.
Jim

 

[American_Mainsail]

Thanks
I'll keep soaking it over the next week. I'll buy the press and work the problem as you recommended.
I'll let you know next week how it goes.
Jim

Hi Jim - another, basic thought I had last night that I thought I would pass on. I'm not sure if you've had any luck getting the tiller assembly separated at all. If you haven't, it can be difficult to find a large pry bar that will fit between the halves to get any purchase. You may already know this, but you can easily extend a small pry (even a screwdriver) with a piece of 1"-2" diameter conduit; four or more feet in length.

If you can find anything at all that will fit between the halves of the tiller assembly, you can slide your conduit "cheater bar" over your pry tool to greatly increase your lever length and subsequent prying force.

I wouldn't worry too much about galling/damaging the faces of the tiller halves by prying/pounding on them. They don't mate to anything. The most important thing is getting that pin off. Pounding (or pressing with a puller tool and an impact wrench) on the pin itself can also be beneficial to start to get the halves separated enough to get a larger pry between them.

Good luck!
Geoff

 

[smokey73]

I have a "radial" rather than a quadrant like yours, but I called the manufacturer and they suggested drilling small (1/8 inch) holes from the top along the line of the pin all the way down to the pin and then soaking the holes with something like PB blaster. Don't worry if you get into the pin when drilling since you will most likely be replacing the pin anyway. They said the small holes will not compromise the strength of the quadrant but I'd call them anyway just to confirm the information is correct. With the fiberglass shaft, I'd be worried about applying any heat.

It was a bear getting ours out but we used a saws-all to cut out a section of the pin inside the quadrant "hole" and then used a hydraulic "spreader" tool to push the pin out both directions. After you cut it make sure to remove any burrs that might have been left from the saws-all so they don't score the inside of the quadrant pin holes.

Hope my description is clear for you. If not I'll draw a little sketch and send it on as an attachment.

 

[james2034]

I have a "radial" rather than a quadrant like yours, but I called the manufacturer and they suggested drilling small (1/8 inch) holes from the top along the line of the pin all the way down to the pin and then soaking the holes with something like PB blaster. Don't worry if you get into the pin when drilling since you will most likely be replacing the pin anyway. They said the small holes will not compromise the strength of the quadrant but I'd call them anyway just to confirm the information is correct. With the fiberglass shaft, I'd be worried about applying any heat.

It was a bear getting ours out but we used a saws-all to cut out a section of the pin inside the quadrant "hole" and then used a hydraulic "spreader" tool to push the pin out both directions. After you cut it make sure to remove any burrs that might have been left from the saws-all so they don't score the inside of the quadrant pin holes.

Hope my description is clear for you. If not I'll draw a little sketch and send it on as an attachment.

Thank you. Great help