Bad vibration, rudder has play

Hi all,

I developed bad play. It seems like it came out of no where. We had been out for a couple of hours and then all of a sudden terrible vibration. I didn't hit anything. No damage at all.

Here is what I have done so far.

Prop, is ding free and balances perfectly.
Had the prop shaft aligned.
Had the shaft checked to make sure it's straight.
The strut bearing had a tiny bit of play so I had it replaced.
The tranny and engine sound and run perfect!

Here is what the mechanic said. The rudder has about a 1/2 of play in it. I can shake it back and forth pretty far. He said it shouldn't move at all. I am already 700+ into this and I would like to know if anyone has had this issue. I think underway that 1/2 of play flutters back and forth causing my vibration?

2003 Ski Centurion Avalanche c4 with 700+ hours on it.

That is much too much movement. There must be a bushing that came out in some manner that would normally hold the rudder shaft in place.
(I'm assuming that the play is in the shaft as play in the steering would not cause a vibration like you descrive.)

Play is not in the stearing wheel at all. You can hold the wheel straight and move the rudder back and forth easily. Something is very wrong with it. Can I rebuild it?

My older supra had rudder play just like you but I didnt get a vibration, I pulled mine and the o-rings had rotted away. I dont know what newer boats use to seal the rudder shaft ? Did you ask the mechanic what seals it from the water coming in? Anyways I replaced the o-rings and the play went away.

Honestly I am hoping it's the rudder. What else could it be?

It could be a loose connection of the steering cable to the rudder or the anchor/pivot point of the steering cable in the back of the boat. I had the cable come loose after a dealer replaced it and it vibrated really bad before it got to a point where I could not turn the boat in one direction. Could have lost complete control if it came completly out of the clamp.

Anyone know how to pull the rudder blade?

So I talked to Shell over at centurion. She thinks the seal is most likely bad and I lost of the grease. So I guess pull the steering arm off drop the blade, new o-ring and re-grease. Hopefully that works!

This thread has got me thinking. My Sanger v210 has helm / steering cable vibration and noise when accelerating and turning one direction. I always thought t was the helm/cable connection but couldn't find anything. I'll look to rudder play & the cable rudder hookup to see if it's loose.

Anyone have tips for removing the rudder blade?

You wiil have to move the boat back on the trailer to pull the rudder.If your close to water thats pretty easy but can be a bit harder on dry bunks.the real problem is getting around under the motor to get the bolts out.The rudder will have a bolt on the top connecting the steering arm and then a larger nutt under the arm holding the rudder in place.I think the hardest part is getting a wrench under the engine when your taking the big nut off.
When you go back in make sure the o-rings dont get twisted or penched and remember the big nutt is a adjustment taking up the slack so don't tighten it too much.Just enough to take up the slack.Other than that its just a brass shaft inside a tube.

So either my mechanic lied or couldn't tell but one of my blades on my prop was bent. No dings or dents, just a bent blade, weird boat runs amazing. On a side note the OJ strut bearing made my boat quiter and way less vibration.

Remove the arm thats attached to the rudder, Put a pad or something soft on the prop guard. Take a hammer and block of wood and tap on the rudder shaft it should just drop down on the prop guard. Don't lose the woodruff key! It makes it alot easier if you remove the housing that is in the bilge, 4 bolts and its out. Now you can take the rudder and housing up to Napa or your choice of parts stores to get o-rings. Jus do reverse order to get it back in, put the rudder shaft up into the bilge and then install the housing. Pack the hell out of it with WATER PROOF grease other wise it will just wash out. Also get you some 3m 5200 for sealing up the housing area. It will take you longer to move your seats and other crap than to change the o-rings. Good luck if you do it.

More then likely the bent blade on your prop took out your strut bearing. If you haven't done so already repair/ replace your prop before it causes damage it the strut bearing again and possibly more.

Yeah I feel dumb thinking because the prop looked perfect that it wasn't bent. I am glad, I have new strut bearings, and I replaced the seals on my rudder and re-greased. She is silky smooth now. At 700+ hours it needed to be done.