Temporary fix to a dragging steering wheel.
Completed 04/01/2020
- Remove the binnacle shroud. It should just slide up and off
- Remove the binnacle housing.
- Remove the 2 screws holding on the binnacle light and slide the light out of the way.
- Lift off the binnacle.
- Remove the binnacle mount.
- Remove the 4 screws holding the mount.
- These screws would NOT come out. Been too long I guess. It’s still possible to reach the lube points though. (Whew!)
- Lift off the mount
- Lube the bearings
- There are two bearings supporting the shaft. Lube holes give access for the lube. Mine had screws in the lube holes requiring removal to access.
- Use teflon lube with a nozzle to squirt lube into the lube points while turning the wheel.
- My bearings would not accept any lube. After some testing, the aft bearing was good but the forward bearing was rough. I just squirted WD-40 in through the side of the bearing to get it freed up, then applied Teflon lube into the lube hole. (Teflon is the brand name of the polymer PTFE, or polytetrafluoroethylene.) It’s free and smooth now, but I’ll keep an eye on that forward bearing. It may need replacement.
- Replace the bearings if needed
- To be determined ;)
- Lube the chain with lightweight oil. 30W motor oil works well.
- Reassemble using anti-seize on all bolts and screws.
After removing the shroud and light.
Getting the forward bearing freed up with WD-40.
I squirted the WD-40 in the side. You can see the lube point is blocked with a screw just above the nozzle.
After removing the screw, lube with Teflon.
Here is the screw you remove before squirting the lube in the hole.