Steering issue-how to proceed???? Help!!

[perchance]

Originally Posted by projectgator

Thanks for the help. So..are these bearings similar to a wheel bearing on a car or trailer? Would a GRAINGER have something like these? Life is getting better..I think? Thanks again!

Looking at the drawings provided by Astrid they appear to be standard single row deep groove ball bearings shielded both sides ( meaning they are lubed for life). If they have no numbers take them with you to your local industrial supplier that deals in things like pulleys , belts, chains and sprockets etc. They can measure them and should be able to provide you with a suitable replacement. Most manufacturers use off the shelf components as it would be prohibitively expensive to make their own.

[Vasco]

Any bearing store should have them as long as you have the number.

[projectgator]

Hi, here's an update. I was able to remove the pedestal from the cockpit without too much effort. Everything down below is clean with no impingment and the rudder moves easily using just hand-force on the horizontal shaft going back to the rudder. Additionally, the arm that is on the bottom part of the pedestal moves very easily to the steering wheel. Before I removed a bolt I did push and pull on the steering wheel as directed. There was absolutely no play in the wheel. I began removing the steering pinion gear with all of the bolts, washers. The gear appeared very clean with no apparent filings or damage. I removed the compass binnacle and plate on top of the quadrant gear. The gear did have some filings smattered in some of the valleys of the gears in the grease. I removed the grease and filings. I tried to get the "key" that locks the quadrant to the shaft. I was unsuccessful trying with various small and small flathead screwdrivers. I greased everything on top and reassembled but left out the 4 plastic sheeves. On the bottom end of the pedestal I greased and inspected the best I could. There was a bit of play with the lower bearing. Not sure how much but a metal knock could be produced when moving the pedestal shaft back and forth. I don't know if this translates to a bad lower bearing or indicates the cause of my steering issue? Apparently I need a sprocket extractor after I've removed this "key" to access the bearings? This is the Whitlock Cobra 4 and not the Cobra 5, it looks like the only differnence are the number of "keys"?

I put everything together sans the plastic washers. I ran the engine in forward and reverse tied to the dock while moving the rudder from port to starboard and back again and again. I found no issues but didn't have any mates to go out so I don't know for sure whether my cleaning and slight adjustments has helped. That's this weekend's goal. If I do have a problem and I make it back alive, I'm thinking the best approach would be to remove pedestal and take it to a technician that has a better understanding of the bearings and the gear alignment. I'll update once I've tested the waters.......