A month ago, my Raymarine ST4000 autopilot stopped auto piloting. It was obvious the belt was the problem as bits of yellow belt teeth were falling out. Although I'm the 3rd owner, I'm sure it was the original belt, 16 years old. Picture 1 shows the wheel mounted autopilot ring. You can see a bit of the damaged belt at the bottom of the ring, peaking out below the stainless steel retention band.
I went to West Marine before taking the autopilot apart. That was a mistake as they were sure I needed the gray belt shown in picture 2, inside the damaged OEM belt. They did take the grey one back and ordered the correct belt, Raymarine Part # A18083.
When I did take the autopilot apart, the part shown in picture 3 fell out. This is a plastic nub with a brass insert to hold the retaining plate (the 3mm hex head on the right in picture #1). There is only thin plastic holding this onto the wheel mount backplate. I used superglue to put it back in the correct position, and then plastic bonding epoxy around the thing to reinforce. If it breaks again, I will through bolt it.
The real surprise was picture 4. This is the bolt holding in the right side of the retaining plate. Note the complete lack of threads. Some worker in the assembly plant just picked it out of the box and inserted it without ever looking for threads. Needless to say, I replaced that item.
Bottom line, the belt swap out worked and the autopilot functions again - a real plus when single handing.
I went to West Marine before taking the autopilot apart. That was a mistake as they were sure I needed the gray belt shown in picture 2, inside the damaged OEM belt. They did take the grey one back and ordered the correct belt, Raymarine Part # A18083.
When I did take the autopilot apart, the part shown in picture 3 fell out. This is a plastic nub with a brass insert to hold the retaining plate (the 3mm hex head on the right in picture #1). There is only thin plastic holding this onto the wheel mount backplate. I used superglue to put it back in the correct position, and then plastic bonding epoxy around the thing to reinforce. If it breaks again, I will through bolt it.
The real surprise was picture 4. This is the bolt holding in the right side of the retaining plate. Note the complete lack of threads. Some worker in the assembly plant just picked it out of the box and inserted it without ever looking for threads. Needless to say, I replaced that item.
Bottom line, the belt swap out worked and the autopilot functions again - a real plus when single handing.
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