30-2/30T - rudder bearing removal and replacement?

[soopad00pa]

Rudder failed tolerance test, so I dropped it. Need to pull the bearings but aside from cutting them out, I don't see a way forward. Lower bearing rests on a lip of glass and while it doesn't rotate freely, it does wiggle in place a bit, so it's not epoxied.

Can't get upper bearing to move with my fingers, so not sure what's what with that.

Do I just trim the hole back, replace bearing, and glass a new 'shelf' in place?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Don Crowther]

Are you replacing both bearings? Could you cut the top one out and push the bottom one up. Then slip the lower bearing in from the top?

good luck

 

[Marmalade]

Faced nearly the identical challenges in a Peterson, and after much consternation and over-thinking, eventually jumped-in with a reciprocating saw with an 18" blade. Cut the top bearing from the top and the bottom from the bottom, just letting the saw cut a blades-with "slot" into the lip on the bottom. Cut them into 1/3 wedges.

Did my best measurements, had a local machinist machine some new bearings from some Delrin, including some small grooves on the OD, then inserted from the top with a smear of 4200 on those OD grooves... went mostly ok.

New bearings eliminated a huge amount of sloop from the rudder, made driving so much better!

That's what worked for me, good luck!