Yes, the cams are supposed to rotate through roughly 90 degrees. There are two positions- up and locked down. When in the locked down position, the "hook" portion of the cam engages either a roller pin or a flat plate in the upper rudder casting (depending on the age of the castings). The cams can get inadvertently placed into the locked down position even if the rudder isn't down, when this happens, you have to "pop" the cam back into the up position before you can lock the rudder down. To do this, raise the upper rudder casting up and out of the way. Then, place a flat object, like a large flat-blade screwdriver, between the bottom surface of the cam and the top of the plastic plunger (which is mostly inside the lower rudder casting) then pop the cam to the up postion.
If your rudder cams constantly get stuck in the down position, either the rudder cam is worn out and needs to be replaced, the cam isn't properly lubricated, or the plunger spring force is too high (there is a large plastic screw on the under-side of the lower rudder casting that sets the plunger force).
The cams are easy to replace. Just remove the pin that holds the cam in place (this comes from the factory as a large rivet that must be drilled out) and install the new cam using the sex-screws that come with the cam replacement kit (I recommend using loctite on the screws). A small amount of grease on the plunger and cam surface will keep the cams rotating smoothly.
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Last edited by srm on Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
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