Stern gear tube

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, bizzard said:

Probably no need to have it skimmed. Just a sheet of very fine emery ot production paper to clean it up, encircling it and grasp it by hand, twisting back and forth all around like  a motorbike hand throttle twist grip.

With a bit of oil on the paper

[John Lewis]

Inside is a bit grubby. But took a good tap of hammer to come off.

 

How tight should it be going back on?

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

The latest photo shows a cut out in the land at the end of the bearing. Is there a corresponding "bump" in the housing you took off? Is it possible to drill and tap the housing to put a bolt into that cut out. If so That would stop it turning.

 

 

33 minutes ago, John Lewis said:

Inside is a bit grubby. But took a good tap of hammer to come off.

 

How tight should it be going back on?

 

Its a bearing so it should spin easily on the shaft after you have cleaned the shaft up but it should only have minimal radial play.

[John Lewis]

Thanks Tony - that was my next question.

 

Ive cleaned it backup, various sand papers and a polishing tool at my local welders.

The brass bush now slides over, whilst still touching a bit.

So quite pleased.

 

So, was going to ask if I should locktite it back in place first?

The bolts sound like a good idea too.

 

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by John Lewis

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, John Lewis said:

Thanks Tony - that was my next question.

 

Ive cleaned it backup, various sand papers and a polishing tool at my local welders.

The brass bush now slides over, whilst still touching a bit.

So quite pleased.

 

So, was going to ask if I should locktite it back in place first?

The bolts sound like a good idea too.

 

 

All I know is that the usual way of stopping that bush spinning in a typical narrowboat is a peg that locates into the cut out in the inboard end of that bush but I can't see if you have such a peg in the tube. 

 

You must not crush the bush with any bolt. The idea is that you use one to form a peg to go into a cut out in the bush.

 

If that land (raised band) around the outboard end of the bush is used for the housing you took off to hold the bush into the tube then you only ned to stop the bush sinning in the tube. Having struggled to get Cutless bearings out of their housing with just a couple of removed grub screws to retain them the last thing I would do is Locktite the bush in ---- that is unless I was about to sell the boat

[Tracy D'arth]

You could drill a hole through the outer tube and bearing, tight fit a brass screw, and peen over inside and out after cutting the excess off inside the bearing.

Probably easier to put shaft in the bearing and then peen the outside of the screw until its a tight water tight fit.

Edited May 28, 2020 by Tracy D'arth

[Tony Brooks]

Personally I would rather he drill and tap the casting because it won't matter if the thread is not water tight.

[bizzard]

8 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

You could drill a hole through the outer tube and bearing, tight fit a brass screw, and peen over inside and out after cutting the excess off inside the bearing.

Probably easier to put shaft in the bearing and then peen the outside of the screw until its a tight water tight fit.

A countersink would be needed on the inside to rivet it. A wee trace of Locktite retaining fluid at one end would hold it, a bit of heat from a blowlamp will break it down easily if needed to remove in the future.

[Mike Adams]

Just put it back as it was. Put the sleeve/bearing back in the tube, replace the outer retainer and tighten up without the shaft. The sleeve/bearing should be tight. If not the collar on the bearing may need some packing behind it. Avoid puting odd srews etc in as next time you want to take it apart you might not get them out. The sleeve bearing should not rotate as there are no signs of it having done so before.

[blackrose]

23 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

I am with BEngo re the Cutless bearing for canal use. 

 

There must be thousands of water lubricated stern glands in use on the inland waterways and how often do we hear about problems stemming from grit getting into them compared to problems with greasy glands? Anyway, mine's been fine for 15 years. They're much cleaner and less polluting and given the choice I'd go for another one every day of the week. Obviously if the OP can fix the one he's got cheaply then that's what he should do.

 

Oh and by the way, no Tony I don't have any financial interests in water lubricated glands, just another satisfied user! ?

Edited May 28, 2020 by blackrose

[Man 'o Kent]

Been watching this thread with interest as I am involved with a boat that apparently need work on its bearing too.

That notch on the inboard end of the bearing sleeve. They did not faff about machining that notch in it to save weight! That notch is there to engage on something in the stern tube. That is not to say the mating part was ever fitted to the boat in this instance.

One small tip: Get yourself a pot of Wool Fat, (Anhydrous Lanolin), from your local chemist, (it'll last a lifetime). A drop smeared onto any threads or other parts likely to be subject to rusting and they will always come apart. A bit sticky at first but eventually develops a skin and is nothing compared to a siezed bolt.

Let's face it, when did you last see a rusty sheep?!

[Alan de Enfield]

25 minutes ago, Man 'o Kent said:

Let's face it, when did you last see a rusty sheep?!

 

[ditchcrawler]

5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

O no

[Man 'o Kent]

Just goes too prove me point, them ones is rusty 'cos they 'aint  got no wool!

[Mike Adams]

12 hours ago, blackrose said:

There must be thousands of water lubricated stern glands in use on the inland waterways and how often do we hear about problems stemming from grit getting into them compared to problems with greasy glands? Anyway, mine's been fine for 15 years. They're much cleaner and less polluting and given the choice I'd go for another one every day of the week. Obviously if the OP can fix the one he's got cheaply then that's what he should do.

 

In my very limited experience of cutlass bearings, which work generally very well, is that it is possible for something like nylon or steel wire getting caught around the shaft tearing then to pieces. This has happened to me only once in France on a boat that had 6 cutlass bearings, three on each shaft the inner one being fed by a water supply from the engine and the outer ones on 'p' brackets. For ditch crawling I would go with a solid bearing every time. I think sandy water tends to wear the shaft more than the cutlass bearing.

[cuthound]

20 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

There must be thousands of water lubricated stern glands in use on the inland waterways and how often do we hear about problems stemming from grit getting into them compared to problems with greasy glands? Anyway, mine's been fine for 15 years. They're much cleaner and less polluting and given the choice I'd go for another one every day of the week. Obviously if the OP can fix the one he's got cheaply then that's what he should do.

 

Oh and by the way, no Tony I don't have any financial interests in water lubricated glands, just another satisfied user! ?

 

Indeed I have just replaced my Vetus water lubricated stern gland with a Radiche one, after 12 years use. The gland cost about £100.

 

Only had to replace it because it had a piece of glass in it, which had cut through it.

 

When I first bought the boat, 6 years ago, it came with everything needed, as the owners were retiring from boating. In the spares box was a tube of silicone grease and a glass syringe with the end missing...