I have just been doing some maintenance on my parker 325 steering gear.

Having removed the rudder stock which is connected to the quadrant with a rod and universal joint, I noticed the UV joint was cracked in such a way that it would cause a critical problem if it failed as I do not currently have an emergency steering option set up

Basically I would like to replace the UV

Does anyone know of a supplier for these universal joints

Boat is due back in the water soon but I cannot do that easily as I cannot get back to my mooring, and would rather fix it out of the water where access is easier

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If you have the same set up as the 335, the thing that connects the steering push-rod to the rudder stock is called a rose joint.
If you search for stainless rose joints you will find many suppliers and even more sizes of rose joint.

Good luck

Thanks for the feedback MartinH

I have tracked down some sites selling Rose joints, and even ordered some mistakenly thinking they would be Metric threaded and left handed threads. Unfortunately they were neither.

I am still trying to find out what thread it is, possibly UNF left handed. So waiting for a convenient moment to remove it and send of to supplier and say 'find me one of these'

Once I find out what the correct size is I shall do another post with pictures for more useful feedback for others

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Hello Bill
I am in the same position, looking to replace steering rose joints on Sandack (P325 #30). Can you tell me what you used and where you sourced them please?
Cliff

Update on universal Ball joint
I got mine from HenersonBearings.co.uk in Poole
The part number for the rod end is
NXM10/RVH
HIGH PERFORMANCE MALE ROD END
email paul@hendersonbearings.co.uk
should be around £10 + vat

As you can see from the earlier thread in the forum, Mine had cracked so desperately needed replacement
However, mine has been in place for 2 years, and I have noticed that it has become very stiff and needs regular cleaning and greasing. It may be that a more expensive type such as bronze may be a better bet in the long term. I do not know if Hendersons can supply that, I plan on changing mine again if I can find a bronze version this winter when I take the boat out. Also be careful that you get the correct Thread, as the stern UV is a left hand thread and the thread itself should I recall be metric.

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The threads at both ends of my tiller linkage are Right Hand 5/8 UNF. Ball bore is 0.623" or 5/8" to fit the spigot. The external rod end bearing was galled onto the spigot and took a lot of force with a tool that looks looks like a tuning fork to get it off.

I bought a stainless steel replacement with a nylon race from bearingboys.co.uk. About £60. It's a Dunlop product. FP-10SS 5/8inch Right Hand Rod End Bearing - Stainless Steel

I checked to see if there is a bronze race version but to my surprise, the Dunlop helpline didn't recommend it for marine use. They seemed to think there was potential for corrosion between the bronze and stainless.

Interesting about Bronze fitting, thanks for link for Stainless rose joint, I shall be replacing mine this winter as mine is definitely not performing well

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