Geko45
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2012
- Messages
- 82
So, I had a new long block put into the Cobalt (not an engine question) and after the shop returned the boat to me the steering was noticeably off center. Ideally, I should be able to just ask the shop to recheck the steering and hydraulics, but since it took 3 and 1/2 months to get a working boat back from this shop (seriously, they destroyed the first long block completely and had to get another and start over) I'd rather not have them touch my boat again. So, I'm trying to figure out this steering problem myself.
First problem, the boat is very hard to steer. It's like steering an old car without power steering while moving very slowly. It takes a lot more effort than it did before to move the wheel. This is probably just air in the hydraulic lines and I just need to bleed the system, but I mention it for completeness sake considering the problem below.
Second problem, the outdrive (a Volvo Penta DuoProp drive) will turn sharper to port than to starboard. With the wheel hard over to the stop on each side, the difference is noticeable to the naked eye in regards to the deflection of the outdrive. When I came in to dock the first time after getting it back, I was caught off guard by the lack of turning radius to starboard and bumped it hard on the port side.
The picture below shows the hydraulic ram assembly for the steering system on the outdrive.
There are two rods. The first is driven directly by the steering cable (this rod was disconnected when I took the pic) and the second is the hydraulic assist. Both rods are connected to the outdrive steering arm and actuate it back and forth accordingly. The steering rod passes through a sleeve (marked in red) and it would seem that this sleeve needs to move in the direction shown in order to bring the steering into alignment. The problem is that I don't know how to do that. The sleeves rotates freely (shown in purple), but won't move side to side (as you would expect). There are two Phillips screws facing the transom that probably have something to do with adjusting the assembly, but the far one (shown) in orange is directly up against the transom and I can't get a tool in there to loosen it.
So, any ideas on how to get my steering into alignment? Am I on the right track or is it something completely different? Any helpful advice?
First problem, the boat is very hard to steer. It's like steering an old car without power steering while moving very slowly. It takes a lot more effort than it did before to move the wheel. This is probably just air in the hydraulic lines and I just need to bleed the system, but I mention it for completeness sake considering the problem below.
Second problem, the outdrive (a Volvo Penta DuoProp drive) will turn sharper to port than to starboard. With the wheel hard over to the stop on each side, the difference is noticeable to the naked eye in regards to the deflection of the outdrive. When I came in to dock the first time after getting it back, I was caught off guard by the lack of turning radius to starboard and bumped it hard on the port side.
The picture below shows the hydraulic ram assembly for the steering system on the outdrive.
There are two rods. The first is driven directly by the steering cable (this rod was disconnected when I took the pic) and the second is the hydraulic assist. Both rods are connected to the outdrive steering arm and actuate it back and forth accordingly. The steering rod passes through a sleeve (marked in red) and it would seem that this sleeve needs to move in the direction shown in order to bring the steering into alignment. The problem is that I don't know how to do that. The sleeves rotates freely (shown in purple), but won't move side to side (as you would expect). There are two Phillips screws facing the transom that probably have something to do with adjusting the assembly, but the far one (shown) in orange is directly up against the transom and I can't get a tool in there to loosen it.
So, any ideas on how to get my steering into alignment? Am I on the right track or is it something completely different? Any helpful advice?
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