Another R29 Shear Pin Question

dante3756

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2012
Messages
48
Fluid Motion Model
C-288 C
Vessel Name
Snug
I've read the many shear pin posts, but still have some moronic questions (RE: R29 stern thruster).
- Do I need to haul out to replace stern thruster shear pin?
- Some posts say remove or slightly move aux fuel tank, but some say it is glued in. Please amplify.
- Best source of new shear pins and ratchet tool.
- Best source of new knuckles after project is done.

Dante
 
Sheerpin is done from the inside of the boat while boat is still in the water. My auxiliary tank was not glued. I think if it is full and has not been moved for a few years it may feel like it is glued. I order parts from the factory . Before you start to replace move what you can out of the way. A few mins of prep can make the job a lot less painful.
 
Bow thruster was no problem. Stern thruster was the worst project ever. I removed the brackets that hold down the aux fuel cell from the front and right side - no big issue. Transfer all of the fuel to the primary tank. What you may not know if there is a third brack at the back of the aux fuel tank, so you'll need to shimmy in between the port bulkhead and the tank and bend into a pretzel to loosen and remove the rear bracket.

Once this is done, you can slide the aux fuel tank and few inches to the left and squeeze yourself in there. There 6mm rachet is available online, as are the shear pins, but make sure you are ordering them for a SidePower SE40 - get several of them.

I placed a block under the thruster when I finally was able to wedge myself in there to support the thruster when the bolt came free (there are only two holding it into the transom, but they are fairly long). Once you remove them, the thruster will hang free as it is still connected to the power and control cables. I got this far only to find out the shear pin was not, in fact, broken, but the thruster was half full of water! It just got replaced, but I finally relented and let the pros take care of that part, as I didn't want to address the rewiring, which likely would have been easy.

There are special pliers that can be purchased to remove the shear pin ring lock, but I simply used two sets of needle nose pliers to pull it off the bow thruster when we needed to replace that shear pin - not too hard.

Hope if all goes well for you! Good luck.
 
You can access the rear bracket for the tank by removing the floor in the rear locker There is also a grease nipple there for the rudder that you can grease while there . I was able to spin the tank to allow enough room when it was 1/2 full with out too much difficulty. I did need to unscrew some supporting tie wraps to allow the fill and vent hoses to move more freely.
 
Thank you all so much. You've cleared up my confusion. I'll have to clear up my own incompetence.

Dante
 
We are new owners of a classic R29 and upon delivery, we spun the dreaded shear pin on our rear thruster. We read every post/pdf, prepared all the tools, and the job only took us an hour! The advise we found here was invaluable, thank you all. Of course we did detour from the instructions in one important way. At 5' 3", my wife Kelly could fit in the space and did the work herself! No need to move batteries or the fuel tank.

Thanks again to everyone, we're excited to be part of the Ranger community!
 
Hey Rich,
Is Kelly available when I need to replace my shear pin?

Jon
 
Jon":da1bjokm said:
Hey Rich,
Is Kelly available when I need to replace my shear pin?

Jon

Anytime, Jon...anytime! 😉
 
Hey Jon! She's a women on a mission. I'd guess it'd take Kel less than an hour to replace your shear pin. Let us know and I'll hand her the tools!
 
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