I found that my 4000+ the clutch engage lever wasn't being held in place
properly when disengaged -- the tiny plastic post that holds it was worn
down and a poor design to begin with.. When lever dropped, the belt
partially engaged, causing difficulty when hand steering. My solution was to
remove the plastic wheel ring, grind off the post and, in its place, install
a detent for the lever. The detent was nothing more than a rubber grommet
sliced in half to make it thin, then install it on plastic ring w/ short
flat head self-tap screw after first drilling. Now, when the lever is pushed
over the tapered edge of the grommet, it is captured securely, and stays in
place when hand steering.. Works great after two years.

Beacuse you had this steering problem and perhaps forced the wheel somewhat,
it's quite possible that you have some cracked or broken plastic pully axels
inside the ring. I did. They're not at all rugged. The fix that worked for
me was to use epoxy plus very small self-tap screw to repair them -- the
screws are a must.

A friend had these same problems and he was able to obtain good results when
I advised him of these fixes.

Let me know how you make out.

Len

--
Eliminate "ns" for email address.

"eastlands" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a Raymarine ST4000 (not +) wheelpilot and I find that when the
clutch is disengaged and I am steering manually that the belt inside
the unit "sticks" to the rim of the casing making the boat almost
unsteerable.

I have had the unit "repaired" by a Raymarine dealer (belt and cluch
mechanism replaced) but this made no difference.

Does anyone know if this can be cured? Would WD40 or similar on the
belt resolve things or would this let the belt slip when used in auto
mode?

I am reluctant to buy the ST4000+ upgrade at a cost of £400 when I
have already paid out for a repair.

Incidentally does anyone else have problems with Raymarine equipment?
In addition to this wheelpilot a previous tillerpilot, wind speed and
log instruments have all needed expensive repairs at about 4 years
old... Needless to say I will try to avoid this brand in future!

Stuart Eastland