Excessive play in Edson wheel hub - not sure how to fix.

[Chris & Lenore]

On our Aloha 32, I can rock the wheel back and forth (at the rim) almost two inches.

It's and Edson pedestal with a 1 inch straight shaft. When I had a quick look, the wheel nut threads into a bit of a recess on the wheel hub. One problem is that it doesn't thread in far enough (about 1/8 less than needed). I added a 1/4 inch washer so the nut can snug against the hub. That stopped the back and forth play but now I have a good 10 degrees that I can turn the wheel without the spindle turning.

I have heard of people replacing the key, but I have two issues with that. First off, the Edson diagrams for my pedestal do not have the solid collar that you see in the first picture. They only have a circlip for the hub to seat against. Then I started looking at pictures and diagrams of Edson wheels - and I cannot find one with a hub that looks like mine (aluminum - see second pic).

Also, the hole in the hub is a good 1/64 or 1/32 oversize - why it rocked back and forth. You can see this in the third pic where I rocked the wheel forward and photographed the hub/spindle gap.

I'm not sure what to do? I can replace the key but the hub is worn oversize. It's keyway also appears to be worn considerably.

Then there is the problem of the wheel nut not even snugging up against the hub (unless I use a 1/4 washer).

Thanks,

Chris

 

[caribbeanfrank]

you can purchase a piece of square stock to fit the wheel and file/grind half of it to fit the shaft...or cut a feeler gauge to shim up the slack in the hub.

 

[DougM]

The keyway in the hub looks like it is really worn. It would be difficult to weld it up and re machine it. Possibly you could locate some slightly oversize key stock and grind it to fit the keyway. If it wasn't for the fact that you probably want to remove the wheel frequently, the other possibility would be to shim the keyway. Then there is the extra cost option of attempting to purchase a new hub.

 

[jibes138]

Take it to Bircher Machine Shop in Morehead City. Have them bore out the center of the wheel, press (shrink fit) in a bushing the right size, and cut a new keyway. They make keyway cutters you can use on a Bridgeport milling machine.

 

[Ross]

How long have you owned the boat? Are you certain that the wheel matches the shaft? I am inclined to believe that the wheel wasn't made for that steering gear.

 

[CarlN]

Call Edson for advice.

You won't find better customer service in the boat business.

 

[Warren Milberg]

Carf is right: call Edson, they are great in the help department. I have a Merriman steering system and needed to see if any Edson parts would fit as the company is long out of business. The guy who answered the phone was Will Keen, the president of the company. We discussed what parts might work and then he offered to send them to me and see which ones might work. Best customer service I've ever had -- and I was not an owner of their product! He knew that eventually I would replace the system with an Edson.