Lube Rudder in E32-3, What I Did

[newgringo]

I finally did a chore that has been on hold for a long time. I lubricated the rudder post bearings in our E32-3. The top bearing was easy. I snaked the flexible hose of a grease gun up thru the steering quadrant and pumped in a few strokes. Joy. The lower bearing was more of a chore. The factory lower Zerc fitting (Old Zerc) was mostly covered with fiber glass from the factory. Had probably never been lubricated. After chipping away the glass my pretty heavy duty grease gun could not pump grease thru the Zerc. It was apparently corroded shut. What to do? Observing that the Old Zerc was located in the rudder stock above the lower bearing and above the water line, as well as below the stuffing box I drilled, tapped and screwed in a new Zerc fitting (New Zerc, with red rubber cap). I used epoxy glue to seal and secure the fitting. Then I was able to pump copious quantities of grease into the cavity while turning the wheel back and forth. Oh, it turns so smooth and nice now. Feels So Good!. The whole job took about an hour after I had my head straight on a plan and gathered all the materials and tools. One question you might be wondering about. How did I know the water line level inside the boat before I went to drilling holes? I used a long piece of clear tubing filled with water with one end over the side of the boat into the bay, routed inside the boat to well below water line with the other end above water line. The water level is easily observed in the tube. Kind of a reverse contractors water level. So that's done for this year.

 

[u079721]

Great job. But out of curiosity, why couldn't you have removed the old zerk fitting and screwed in a new one? On our boat the lower fitting was glassed over and corroded shut just like yours, but it was a fairly simple matter to replace with a new one.

 

[Frank Langer]

Given that this is a relatively enclosed fitting above the waterline, is it necessary to re-grease this each year, or is "periodically" enough?
Frank

 

[newgringo]

I had fears not being able to reinstall a new Zerc if I removed the old one. Then I would have a hole to fix. Probably could have replaced though. Lube every year? I dunno. Guess I kind of like the idea of lubing things once a year and the grease in the bearing will probably wash away after a period of time. Maybe it will also keep water away from the stuffing box (which needs repacking I think). Just my thoughts.

 

[rwthomas1]

FWIW, I have not been able to find a zerk fitting on my E38 however I am thinking that I may install one this winter. I used to work on industrial equipment and some of it had remote grease points. Basically there was a bank of grease fittings that lead to nylon capillary tubing that leads to grease points on the machinery. It allows very easy lubrication of machinery you can easily access. I hope to install a setup like this to allow remote lubrication of the rudder bearings. Just a thought.... RT