New owner. Steering loose

[KJMach]

Just purchased this boat and its in excellent shape runs great inside is too. Its a 93 sea rY 170 with the 3.0l mercruiser. The lower unit did have some play when i got it. Well its been in the water 3 times and running great. Ran about 30gal threw her. I switched to 91 ethantol free gas and fixed the dieseling. I have unfortunately found why my steering is loose. Looks like a square plastic thing on top of lower unit where steering shaft is connecting to turn is loose. Thats why its sloppy. It looks like a sleeve i could simply tighten? Idk what kinda material it is or if it would simply break something. No unusual noises or viberations, just very hard to back up straight and docking at slow speeds. Can i retorque those 2 bolts at that sleeve saftely to remove some play? I read some where some say it could break or i coupd die if i try lol. Id like to get the rest of seasonout of it if tightening can help it some

 

[Bt Doctur]

there is no such sleeve on an I/O

 

[KJMach]

I guess its not really a sleeve. More like a clamp. Some further research tells me its the gimbal ring and there is mixed feedback if retorqing to spec is safe or not. I think im in the right section?

 

[Mischief Managed]

I don't recall ever seeing anything plastic in the OEM steering shaft and gimbal ring connection and I suspect someone may have tried to shim it to remove play. Odds are good the gimbal ring is very worn and causing your slop. If so, the only option I am aware of is to replace the ring. You may have slop in the steering lever to steering shaft connection too, again, new parts are the way to go. Good luck with the fix. Proper torque on those two bolts is key, but oever-torquing after the wear occurs is not going to buy you much.

Backing a single engine boat is normally challenging and they all wander back and forth at slow speed in forward gear, even if the steering is tight. You will get used to it with experience. To back with more control, learn how your boat responds to both steering and shifting inputs. You will find that you can have much more control by going in and out of gear with the wheel turned in the direction you want the stern to go when you put it in reverse, and turned opposite the direction you want the stern to go when in forward. This leads to rapid lock to lock turning of the wheel while you go from forward to reverse, but you'll find that the boat will usually turn a bit before it picks up any forward or reverse momentum and you can use this to make the boat spin on a dime, if you want to. A suicide knob on your wheel is a huge plus for close-quarters maneuvering. One other thing, if you leave the boat in reverse, you'll find that you can likely adjust steering input (hard over to port, typically) to get the boat to back in a straight line, but the boat will be skewed a bit sideways and will crab. It will spin really easily in reverse with the wheel to starboard. Practice backing in an open area and you'll see this.

 

[KJMach]

I guess i described it all wrong. Its doesnt look like its shimmed, its just a square looking piece that fits over the steering shaft i guess? Its whatever material the rest of the outdrive is? Looks like a pretty big gap in between the two halves like its not tight.

 

[Mischief Managed]

The shaft and the hole it fits in are both square. If there's slop with the two pinch bolts at the proper torque, the typical fix is to replace the gimbal ring.

 

[KJMach]

So if i retorque it to lets say 40ft lbs rather than 55, the chances of it cracking are less slim. Like i said if i can tighten it some for now ill replace the ring at seasons end

 

[stonyloam]

Retorque the two GIMBAL RING CLAMPING SCREWS #21 here: https://www.mercruiserparts.com/Sho...&bnbr=40&bdesc=Gimbal+Ring+And+Steering+Lever to 55 ft lb. sounds like they are loose, so turn the outdrive side to side to get a wrench on the nuts on the back side. Try to do it in 10 lb increments starting about 20. Take your time, use a good torque wrench. Retorquing should remove ALL of the play. If it does not, then your gimbal ring probably needs rebuilding. Retorque every year as part of your annual maintenance. Good luck!

 

[KJMach]

Ok will do. Good advise on the 10lb increments. If its really worn are there chances of it cracking before it gets to 55? Tools arent an issue, ive got a box full of snap on lol. The steering wheel moves abou5 80 degrees off from center. Lower unit on trailer or water moves a bit before catching

 

[stonyloam]

Yeah Snapon will do LOL! It should not crack, mine was pretty loose when I first retorqued it. There are two possible sources of the play, where the aluminum ring clamps on the large square of the pivot pin, and where the steel steering arm clamps onto the smaller square of the pin. The more common problem is the ring getting loose. You can hold onto the ring while someone moves the wheel to see where the play is. Good luck.

 

[KJMach]

The play is where the square pivot pin goes into the ring. Ill retorque and check back with results in a few mins

 

[KJMach]

Retorqued to 55ft lbs, still loose. Looks like ill just have to live with it for the season. Figures bought a boat, better break out another thousand

 

[stonyloam]

These guys should be able to rebuild it: http://www.jrmarine.com

 

[Mischief Managed]

These guys should be able to rebuild it: http://www.jrmarine.com

I like those guys, but was under the impression they only rebuilt Bravo gimbal rings. Worth a shot though.

 

[stonyloam]

I like those guys, but was under the impression they only rebuilt Bravo gimbal rings. Worth a shot though.

Me too, but when I talked to them they said no problem, I could send it in for an exchange, if I needed it right away or have the mine rebuilt, which could take a few weeks. Give them a call.

 

[KJMach]

Ill have to talk to them if they do indeed to alpha units. Does the engine have to be removed to remove the gimbal ring? My local marina said most do but wouldnt give me insight on my particular model

 

[Mischief Managed]

JR Marine sells a slick kit that lets you remove the gimbal ring pretty easily without removing the engine. I have one on my Bravo 3 and it works great. See: http://www.jrmarine.com/instructions.htm I also have the Mercruiser

22-88847A1​

kit and the combination of the two makes the work even easier. That said, pulling a 4 cylinder engine is typically not terribly challenging. Mine has a tight-fitting 7.4 V8 and it's a pain to remove.

 

[KJMach]

Ended up taking it to a local small marina place that is a local guy i know. He had a used transom assembly with a tight as new gimbal ring. A day later and $800 with parts and install and its tight as new. He replaced transom bearing, shift cable and trim senders as well. I was amazed at the turn around time. Doesnt sound like i got hurt compared to tge $2000 quote i got for just a ring replacement

 

[stonyloam]

Retorque it every spring and you should be good forever.