Refitting Rudder

[Spyro]

I am about to refit my rudder after dropping it to remove the prop shaft. The rudder shaft fits into the rudder tube with what appears to be nylon bushes at top and bottom. Should I put any type of grease on the shaft before refitting or just leave as it is?

Thanks.

 

[nigelhudson]

It should not be nylon but another engineering plastic which looks similar. In answer to your question - no do not lubricate the shaft or bearings as some oils or solvents can attack the plastic and possibly cause it to swell. They are designed to not require any specific lubrication.

One problem that happens with bottom rudder bushes on Westerlys and may also afflict your boat is that they become loose in the rudder tube. The effect of this is to allow the bush to rotate in the tube rather than the rudder shaft inside the bush. This causes wear in the rudder tube and significant play in the rudder. The usual fix for this is to put some epoxy putty round the outside of the bush when pushing it home into the bottom of the tube.

 

[savageseadog]

The nylon material is Delrin.