autohelm 4000

[Ken Heyman]

Does anyone know how to tighten up the two circular halves of the drive unit  that mate with each other. I believe one half attaches to the wheel and obviously moves with it and the other attaches to the pedestal via the drive motor and is fixed.The 2 halves are further apart than they should be and the bearings make an unusual noise as the wheel is turned. If I squeeze the halves together the noise disappears. I went to the manual  and the answer isn't apparent. The noise is unrelated to whether the auto pilot is engaged or not. It may be easiest to call Raymarine but I thought someone may have experienced this. I also did a search but didn't find the problem addressed but may have missed it.

Thanks for the help.

Ken

[sail4dale]

I'm not sure what you mean by saying that one half attached to the pedestal.  Both attach to the wheel and the only contact to the pedestal is the pin that is inserted in the slot on the mounted drive on the wheel.  The mounting screws hold the two pieces together.

I erred in trying to disassemble the unit without removing the holding screws and ended up with balls falling out allover. 

reassembly was difficult after I found a place to buy More bearing balls. 

The rwo pieces however do fit closely togeher and just barely clears the engine insrtr. pod.

[Ken Heyman]

Thanks for the reply and yes you are correct regarding the configuration. I didn't explain it well.The aft half moves with the wheel while the other half is stationary. I'll see if i can tighten up the mounting screws and yes I need to be careful to not dump all the bearings.
Thanks,
Ken

[Ken Juul]

You didn't mention what version of the 4000 you have.  I have an old series 50, black control panel and dark gray drive unit.  On mine the halves of the drive unit snap together and I don't remember any ball bearings in it.  It has little wheels that support/separate the halves of the drive unit.  I think I would try to snap the halves together, if that doesn't work, carefully separate the halves and see what is holding them apart.