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OK , back to work. I' m in the process of replacing the pillow block bearings(what the shaft of the rudder rides on, on top of the rudder shelf). For the last 2 day I have been trying to remove this bearing , with out any luck. It has been PB blasted(read liquid wrench but better) and broken one wheel puller so far. C4 is not available and would probably put a hole in the boat. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks Russ

Russ,

Been there, done that before and I presume you don't want to Damage the rudder shaft...

Use a cold chisel and big hammer to break away the cast iron pillow block. Once the iron is gone, break the outer race of the bearing leaving only the inner race stuck to the shaft. With a high speed 90º grinder, fitted with a thin metal cutoff wheel, cut perpendicular across the bearing race just to the point that it touches the shaft. Don't worry, you are not damaging the shaft if you leave a small scrape on it.

Thank you Patrick, will the hammering damage the thru hull for the rudder shaft? and can a large nut cracker be used on the inner race? and this my friends is why we have to keep the doors open on this site. give early and often. thanks Capt. Russ

Russ,

It shouldn't hurt the rudder port. Put one nut/bolt back on the pillow block and tighten it down to the rudder table. This will prevent the shaft from flopping around while you're chiseling. You can also lock the rudder by using a bottle jack beneith the boat. Bring enough tension between the ground and the rudder blade, (keeping a straight vertical line of force), to lock the rudder.

A nut cracker might work. Give it a try....

Russ,
Did you check for set screws?

Thanks Pat, I'll give the the nut cracker a try. can you cut though the pillow block with the angle grinder? Bruce, yes, there were two. I didn't look for them on my old boat and that was fun..thanks Russ

can you cut though the pillow block with the angle grinder?

Yes, but be careful, that thick chunk of iron is capable of grabbing the cutoff wheel and things could get ugly fast. Don't ask how I know or how many scars I have to prove the point...

I use a Dewalt 4.5" 4 amp girder everyday

at work with a diamond blade and used it on the bearing and removed them in just a few minutes.

Russ-

I tried for maybe an hour with a puller and trying to get to get on right and tighten and grab and it sucked. I put a cut-off wheel on my grinder, and each bearing was off in minutes. Use the grinder.

John

Thanks guys, what about any air hammer, instead of a cold chisel or a grinder to break it up? ...Russ

Russ, an air or electric chisel will work but you need to stabilize the work so it has something solid to react against. Once the race breaks loose, the puller should work, so you don't need to split the race. Maybe you can load your puller against the flange bearing, then hit it with the chisel? Obviously it's the inner race that's stuck so you might need to get all that outer crap out of the way on the flange so you can concentrate on the problem. Sounds like your probably trying to avoid sparks and the grinder, but it's probably the simplest way to get rid of the outer chunk.

Good luck

Ray

(Edit) hey!!! How come I'm back to a Junior member ;-))

Well the job is done,,I had to grind both of them off. If they don't come off in 30 min. go to the grinder. I think that they were original 1972 bearings. thanks again for the help guys...Russ

russ i grew up with that 4" grinder with the 1/16 " cut off blade we normally call a wiz wheel .i never use guard but always wear leather gloves like anything else you get use to it and can cut that bearing race in a heartbeat without touching shaft .i use right hand to hold and left hand as rest to cut fine line .great tool on a boat ,grinding F/G is the absolute worst job especially when it is hot out i don`t miss that act.