Steering fork removal

[Sleigher1]

Trying to remove the steering fork from my DP drive.
It appears that it is only held in by a 5/32 allen set screw and of course the drive from below.
That is what the book says.
But, I can't get it to budge.
Any tips on this one?
Don't really want to heat up the metal since it is aluminum and all. Of course if I accidentally caught the boat on fire then that would solve a lot of problems....hmmm.

Thanks in advance.

Peter

[NoSlack]

I'll tell you how it goes on the 280 and you can see if any of it applies to the 290.








Pull the outdrive and remove the helmet. The fork Shaft is about 3" long and passes through 2 plastic bushings and the steering arm that is on the inside. My steering arm has a slot with a bolt through it. When the bolt is tight it clamps the arm to the shaft of the fork. This is a spline fit and more than likely fused together by corrosion.

I took the bolt out of the steering arm, drove a chisel in the slot to expand the arms grip on the shaft and soaked the hole thing in penetrating oil.

I used a 3 foot piece of 1" aluminum round stock and alternated between heating and beating the end of the shaft until the corrosion gave up it's grip.

I was doing this job because my fork wouldn't turn. if you're doing the job because the bushings are wore out and a little water is leaking by them, it may go a lot easier.

Mike

[Sleigher1]

Thanks Mike.
I'm doing it because the bushings are shot.
Mine is a DP-C (at least that was the drive I had, now I am running a DP-E).
It doesn't have the clamp type steering arm It is just held in with a 5/32 allan head bolt.
I think, but I'm not sure yet, that mine is a square peg instead of a spline shaft.
I bought some plastic wedges to try and hammer it down. I'm just leery of beating on the aluminum.
If I break the steering fork I'm liable to go postal on the entire boat.
Thanks again, my main concern was that I was missing some pin or bolt and that all of my hammering would be for naught. Like everything else.

P

[NoSlack]

The DP E looks very similar with addition on the trim sender shaft running up the center of the fork shaft. Part #16 is a rubber sealing ring and #14 & #15 are the plastic bushings it rotates in. As luck would have it, I bought those plastic bushings by mistake and they won't fit my drive. Shoot me an address and I'll send them up if you can use them. Part #854704, #854705

[Knot Now]

I removed mine when I first got my boat. I used wooden wedges to force it down after I took the drive off. Go slow, use rust buster / oil. I did not use heat at all. Just two pieces of wood on each side and wedge between them. Put some pressure on it and then let it set.

[Sleigher1]

Thanks for the offer Mike but I already have two sets. So to accept would be piggy.
Now, if you had one of those gear wheels that would be for sure.
Mine is cracked and they want $60. bucks for a new one.
I'm going to repair mine with epoxy instead.
I shot a bunch of Kano oil in it last weekend. Hopefully it fell off over the week since I haven't gone to look at it since then.

P

[NoSlack]

Sorry, no gear wheel.

If anyone else is replacing the bushings on a 290, check with me before you by a set. I'll probable still have them.

Mike

[Sleigher1]

I thought the Sea Shepherd people were going to show up because I was whaling on it so hard (ha, ha) but I finally got it moving and it came down.
Of course my chisel ate into the shaft and there is corrosion at both the lower and upper bushing surfaces so I will probably have to buy a new fork.
I hate boats.

P

[NoSlack]

The only place I'd worry about the shaft being smooth is at the base where the rubber seal/washer goes. The bushing area is suppose to have grease between the shaft and plastic bushing. At the most the shaft turns a 1/4 turn in those bushings.

Slide your new bushings on and see how much play you have before you decide to buy a new fork.

I assume there is a grease fitting that gets grease into those bushing areas. I never knew about it untill I got mine apart. Now it gets greased every 100 hours like everything else. The old grease was rock hard and needed to be drilled out, but now everything flows like it's suppose to.

Mike

[Sleigher1]

Well, my chisel hole was dead center where the seal rides so I was going to have to fill and machine that for sure.
The shaft was pretty sloppy when it was attached to the drive so I think it was pretty worn. The corrosion is at the bottom of the top bushing.
Also, the bushing for the steer pin had to be cut out and the threads were pretty rough so that was going to take more work.
Also, where the fork mounts to the helmet on one side had some corrosion that might be a problem down the line.
After all the hassle to get it out, I figure it is better to put something back that is pretty sound.
Now, if anybody wants a good deal on a slightly used steer fork assembly......

P