Rudder Grease Zerk

[skippabcool]

Turning the steering wheel is tight in my boat. My first thought was that I was going to need to replace the steering cable. From reading here I was aware that you could and need to grease the rudder. I tried to grease the rudder and my son was helping me and he could not pump any grease into the zerk. I noticed that while we were doing this that the zerk was loose. I asked him if he could unscrew the zerk and he was able to. I figured that the zerk was bad. I replaced the zerk with one that was identical. I then tried to grease it but I still could not pump the handle on the grease gun. I tried greasing something else to make sure that it was not the gun. Any thoughts as to why this would be, or what I need to check?

My plan is to start the removal of the steering cable but before I cut it and take it out I want to check to make sure that the steering wheel itself moves freely as well as the rudder.

Thanks in advance. Also, thanks to all of those that replied to my first post or any PM's. There is lots of great information and people that are on this forum.

[dougpaper]

i had the same problem and my mechanic told me that fitting on the rudder doesnt work like the normal ones that blow greas out of the seal. He claims it is tight because it is probably full with grease.

[skyski_tige]

I don't think you should cut the old cable to get it out. It is more of a tie the new one to the old one and then pull it through.

[rushin]

i had the same problem and my mechanic told me that fitting on the rudder doesnt work like the normal ones that blow greas out of the seal. He claims it is tight because it is probably full with grease.

This is incorrect. I just replaced my rudder and prior to installing the new one I greased it.

There is a very tiny grease vent hole on the bottom plate that the rudder is in on the outside of the boat. It is locacted aft of the rudder hole at the base. When the zerk is greased, grease comes out of this hole.

I hope I explained this ok.

[IDBoating]

MY question is how the heck do you get a grease gun to connect to that zerk fitting? There's no way my arms are long enough to reach down to the rudder area through the limited space that's available around the engine.

[chpthril]

MY question is how the heck do you get a grease gun to connect to that zerk fitting? There's no way my arms are long enough to reach down to the rudder area through the limited space that's available around the engine.

Pull the port side engine/storage divider panel.

Everyone I have ever greased has been tight and I got very little in it. If doing this on a new boat as part of the yearly maint. I feel this is normal as it should not need much. It's not like a ball-joint or tie-rod that has a boot that holds the grease.

[IDBoating]

Pull the port side engine/storage divider panel.

That's what I meant. With those panels removed (both sides), I still haven't found a way to contort myself so that either arm can reach that far.

Can the rear walls of those storage compartments be removed? (I'm talking about the walls that have the battery access doors.) If those can come out easily then it should be possible.

Thanks!

[skippabcool]

I used my son who is smaller to squeeze his arms in there and hold the grease gun. I hung over the top of the engine and squeezed my arms down to push the connector on. Even more fun was getting it off once it was on! Needless to say we both had some bruised upper arms from all of the squeezing.

When it comes time to work on the boat is the only time that I wished I had a direct drive. My buddies that have them like to rub it in, that almost everything is easily accessible.

[chpthril]

That's what I meant. With those panels removed (both sides), I still haven't found a way to contort myself so that either arm can reach that far.

Can the rear walls of those storage compartments be removed? (I'm talking about the walls that have the battery access doors.) If those can come out easily then it should be possible.

Thanks!

Are you a T-Rex or something?



J/k How long is your hose.....um, not what you'll think......the hose on the grease gun. Mine's extra long.

[da.bell]

That's what I meant. With those panels removed (both sides), I still haven't found a way to contort myself so that either arm can reach that far.

Can the rear walls of those storage compartments be removed? (I'm talking about the walls that have the battery access doors.) If those can come out easily then it should be possible.

Thanks!

And one good reason that I got rid of my 24Ve and went to the RZ2. There is tons of room behind the RZ2 motor to get to places unlike the Ve's. However, i do feel your pain (was once mine).

[dingleberry]

Mine's extra long.

Braggart.

[IDBoating]

How long is your hose.....um, not what you'll think......the hose on the grease gun. Mine's extra long.

I knew what you meant, but I appreciate you clarifying just the same! {grin}

I, too, have a long hose (aftermarket mod) on two of my three grease guns. The problem is getting the hose connector snapped onto the zerk, as noted by someone else on this thread. For that you need fingertip access right to the zerk, and so far there's no way I can reach that area.

Side note: I also want to reach back there to clean out the leftover parts from when Tige built the boat. There's a loose nut, a loose washer, a couple of tyrap ends, etc. knocking around back there. I want to clean up that stuff so it doesn't get involved in something important, like the rudder or bilge pump. The only way I've thought of so far is a shop vac, but I can't use that to attach a grease gun hose to a zerk. {grin}

[IDBoating]

When it comes time to work on the boat is the only time that I wished I had a direct drive. My buddies that have them like to rub it in, that almost everything is easily accessible.

If you go back to the earliest questions I posted on this site, you'll find that I was originally considering a direct drive specifically because I expected them to be easier to service. However, comments from basically everyone changed my mind to a v-drive since our emphasis was on board sports, not slalom.

I don't regret going with the v-drive, but while servicing the boat my mind does cast back to the couple of drive drives I looked at, and how accessible everything was once the engine cover was up. Ah, the prices we pay for the fun we want!