Need help with steering problem

[Vandeusen]

How you doing guys so I have a problem I was traveling southbound in North Carolina when my steering gave way on the lower helm I had to throw it in neutral anchor down thinking that I lost hydraulic upon going to the upper helm I realized I had steering there so my wife bundled up in this freezing cold weather that we have today and started to sail the trawler from the upper helm while I went in search of what the problem can be after checking everything I discovered that the steering wheel is just spinning on the shaft I tried to tighten down the nut but that didn't help much I still had no steering

I took the nut off got the washer off took the steering off of the shaft and a small moon shape piece of metal I'm assuming is a keyway fell on the floor I put it back in round side into the shaft and put the steering wheel back on put the washer then the nut and then for just a couple of minutes I had steering and then back to the steering wheel doing nothing and the wife running back upstairs while I work on it some more.

To get to the next Marina I put the steering wheel back on and the little square that I saw I stuck a drill bit in there which held the steering wheel to I got to the marina it doesn't seem like if the key way is broken it looks like a half of a moon can someone please give me some suggestions as we are on our way to Florida and don't want to sit in North Carolina in the middle of nowhere in the freezing cold. Thank you for any replies in advance

 

[Nick F]

Hi Mr van Deusen,
You evidently have a Woodruff type key in the shaft/wheel connection. See this link to Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(engineering)#Woodruff_keys

Why it is coming loose is a separate question. Here are some thoughts:

Perhaps the female tapered bore inside the hub of the wheel is not engaging fully with the male taper on the steering pump shaft.

Perhaps the "key" has broken and the remaining piece is not enough to engage with the slot in the wheel hub. When the key is sitting in its slot on the pump shaft it should be protruding by about 1/8", with the flat (protruding) edge of the key parallel to the surface of the tapered shaft. If the key is not engaging properly with the hub you might get enough friction to permit steering until the big nut loosens just enough to allow the wheel to "slide" on the pump shaft. Sometimes the key slips out of place when the hub is being installed on the shaft.

Good luck!

 

[alormaria]

The half-moon piece of metal is the key. It should fit into an indent in the shaft and leave about 1/2 of the key proud of the shaft. That should fit into a slit in the steering wheel's hole. The washer and nut should hold the steering wheel tightly to the shaft and the key keeps the two in sync.



Is the key too small for the shaft's indent or the wheel's slit? Perhaps it was replaced.
Keys do come in various sizes.


Is the shaft's indent or the wheel's slit stripped or buggered allowing the key to fall out of place? If they are too far gone for a new key, consider drilling a hole through the side of the wheel and trough the shaft. Use a bolt and nut to join the two together.

 

[Vandeusen]

When I look at the key it doesn't look like it's been chipped damaged shaved or broken since I've only had the trawler for 2 months now I'm unsure what the previous owner has done however I did slide the key back in place with the round side in the shaft and got it all put back together again so my next question would be how tight do I need to make the nut? Do I want to tighten it to where I can tighten absolutely no more IE applying pressure? I have moved the steering wheel from Port to starboard and back for a couple of minutes in place and it seems to be holding but again not sure when tomorrow I head back out am I going to wind up in the same problem I did look around to see if I can find a new key with no prevail as it is Sunday but I don't see any reason for the key not to be working maybe at this point I'm not tightening down the nut enough?? Waiting replies thank you... I'm unsure how to send a picture on here otherwise I would send some pictures of what I see for you to see thank you guys

 

[Comodave]

Go to the main page of the forum. One of the sub categories is How to use the forum. In that sub category there is a sticky on how to post photos.

 

[Vandeusen]

Thanks

 

[Comodave]

No problem, photos usually make it easier to get good answers.

 

[DWJensen]

Do you have the same wheels and/or shafts/hubs at both helms? If so it might be worth it to remove the upper and compare the two - That would allow you to see if there's any unusual wear or if the keys are different.

 

[Dwk]

I was thinking the same to compare upper/lower helm to get a better idea of what you have. Apple to Apple comparison to see if parts could be interchanged
to fix lower until the problem is sorted, and replacement parts are ordered.

 

[jleonard]

If the key is in place properly it should stay there unless the wheel gets loose.
I would tighten the nut as much as you can using one hand to hold the wheel and the other to tighten the nut.
If you even get to the point where the wheel can "rock" on the shaft it's too loose.
Best bet would be to replace the nut with a "nylock" locking nut when you get a chance.

 

[Nick F]

Photos would help.
Choose reply, then scroll down a bit to "manage attachments" and attach .jpg files.

 

[North Baltic sea]

Hi, do you have an autopilot on the boat? if there is, then check this system, it will be able to disconnect the steering wheel from the hydraulic system.

NBs

 

[Nick F]

Another thought, Capt van Deusen:

Is it possible that the problem is not the connection between the steering wheel and the shaft of the steering pump?

Important check:
Are you sure that, when the steering was NOT working, the wheel was turning but the steering pump shaft was NOT turning?

If the shaft was, indeed, still turning then the problem is inside the pump system. Either the pump itself or the valves built into the pump unit which stop the pump bypassing when the upper station (or the autopilot) is operated.

Regards,
Nick

 

[FF]

Many helm wheels have a tapered bore that matches the taper of the steering shaft,or pump..

A good taper grabs very well, usually the key is a method of aligning the wheel with the steering, and as a bit of safety.

Sounds like either the wheel was forced beyond rational which may have damaged the key way , which could leave a lump that would force the taper to not grab .Or the wrong key was installed.

When you can, take the wheel off , the key out and simply push the wheel in place with your hand.

It should grab nicely if the tapers are correct, with out the key.

If the shaft has no taper the steering will rely on just the key.

The damaged part will need to be machined for a larger key , although folks have created a repair key by filing a larger one.

If the wheel and shaft have long key ways already machined in simply obtain a longer key than the half moon now in use. A prop shop will have what you need.

 

[SteveK]

upper and lower helm should be the same (if not the wheel). When safe to do so, pull the upper wheel and key and install in the lower. Compare the two keys and keyways for differences.