Steering Helmet Pivot Pin Removal - Help needed

DP-C/290A Drive, regarding the pivot pin that connects the steering helmet to the upper gear housing bearing box.

First off, is my pin normal? Using a pick and measuring the depth of the holes for the allen bolts, I get roughly 1-1/8" (eyeballing) until I reach the threads of the upper gear housing's bearing box. This includes the depth of the recess for the allen bolt heads. However, when I measure the depth of the smaller tapped holes which are used to jack the pin out, they both bottom out at roughly 7/8". The bottom feels solid, not like debris buildup.

At this point, I'm on the verge of breaking the 2 extraction bolts if I tighten any further and the pin is not budging. When I wiggle the leg a little, I can see some play between the pivot pin and the bushing in the helmet, so I don't think it's binding there. I would think, but am not sure, that the pin receiving hole on the bearing box would have a flat bottom other than the threaded holes for the allen bolts, meaning the depth of the smaller holes ought to be the same as the larger with regard to the pin only.

Also, the bolt's I'm having to use are 1/4-20s (not 6mm) and the smaller holes are not threaded until about 1/2" down.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Re: Steering Helmet Pivot Pin Removal - Help needed

1/4-20 is all I have ever used. Sometimes those pins get stuck in the helmet bushing.
Sounds like you may be a salt water boater, or at least the boat has been used in salt water. In the past I have used penetrating oil around the pin, heat, and just a mallet to give it a good thump with pressure on the jack bolts to free things up.

Re: Steering Helmet Pivot Pin Removal - Help needed

Thanks Don, I'll try those tips. Will a low-end propane torch provide adequate heat?

Can anyone confirm that there are no 'posts' or protrusions that extend up from the bearing box into the bottom of the jacking holes of the pivot pin?

I'm scratching my head to understand why the jacking bolts bottom out prematurely. Maybe it's debris and now I've tightly compacted it or worse, someone broke something off down there.

Also, if the pin wasn't stuck, and with retaining bolts removed, could the pin theoretically rotate?

Re: Steering Helmet Pivot Pin Removal - Help needed

Broke a 1/4-20 bolt off. At least I can call it an early night. I thought I was make a little progress using heat.

There seems to be plenty of freedom within the steering helmet stainless steel bushing. It's as if the pin is welded to the bearing box. Yep, it's a saltwater boat.

I had previously left a puddle of PB Blaster down in the jacking holes. It was still there when I started today. Didn't seep out. After blowing it out and getting a clean look down the holes, I still thought it appeared solid at the bottom. I decided to run a 1/4-20 tap down the holes just to see if it might loosen it up if was indeed compacted debris, but not with too much force. The tap point appeared to leave an indention in whatever the material is. I'm guessing it's not anything too hard down there and it did not get shiny in the indention. I'm still scratching my head about it. I'm still assuming all four of the pin's holes should have the same depth.

I'm not sure if gently turning a drill bit down there would be of any help assuming I can extract the broken bolt.

Re: Steering Helmet Pivot Pin Removal - Help needed

Well I finally got the pin out enough to separate from the upper gear housing and can now roll back the helmet. Tried slide hammer after reading another iboats thread, which finally did the trick. Fashioned a small metal plate out of 1/4 aluminum with holes to fit the jack bolts through. Another small hole centered between them for a small bolt with nut behind plate for the slide hammer to attach to. Less than a dozen impact and it started coming out.

I didn't get it out of the steering helmet completely. It's still bound in the bushing. This is generally not a good idea, since the protruding pin will bang against the flimsy black plastic gear of the trim sensor if you roll the helmet back to it's limit. Mine was already broke and I've got bigger fish to fry, so I wasn't worried about it.

Other observations...

Another thread suggested grinding/milling away a few of the threads at the tip of the jack bolts. I had prepared 2 bolts with a grinder, but didn't use them since the slide hammer worked. It think they would've helped. After getting it freed, I found the deepest threads on the pin were tough to turn against That combined with compacted debris likely explains why I couldn't get the jack bolts turned far enough to push like they needed to. A 1/4-20 bottom tap might have helped also, but they're hard to come by in that size. I ground the tip of a tapered tap to make one, but again, didn't need to use it. I did use it after to chase the threads once the pin was free and it was almost like cutting new threads on the last few.

While you will need 30 mm or so of thread length to jack the pin completely out, you can use partial threaded bolts for breaking it free if they have about an inch or so of thread. This is because the holes for the jack bolts do not have threading until about 1/2 inch down, which is also nice if you break off a bolt and aren't the best driller. You shouldn't damage any of the hole's threads setting up for extracting. After breaking one off myself, I decided I'd risk using grade 8 but could only find partial thread bolts in this grade. Later I found that these bolts will protrude about 1/4 inch out the bottom of pin when you run out of thread.

I did make a quick attempt at jacking the pin the rest of the way out of the bushing, but got worried and quit after it seemed that the only result was producing a wider gap between the helmet and the upper gear housing because the pin not budging. I did not take the time to try heat for this step.

Thanks to those that offered suggestions both in this thread and others on the subject. Hope this info helps someone else down the road.