floppy outboard

I took my 19ft Mirage with a a Mercury 150L ( Teleflex seastar hh5271 hydralic steering) out for the first time this season and only had it on the water for about 15 minutes. I could barely control the steering on it. I noticed in the wakeless zone that I had to keep turning the wheel sereval turns each way to keep the boat from going off course. It just kept zig zagging. At a plane I had similiar problems only more severe. It took several turns of the wheel to get me from gradually turing port to a sudden sharp turn to starboard. I immediatley powered down and notice that the motor was flopping port to starboard rather than turning gradually. I trailered it and came home to find a puddle of hydralic fluid in the splash well. It appears to be leaking from the ram assembley and not a hose. I am able to push the outboard a few inches to port to starboard without much resistance. <br />Is this just a matter of replacing the seals? Do these commonly go bad? It worked fine last season before I had it winterized by a new boat shop. Could they have messed it up?<br /><br />Any knowledge would be a big help, Thanks.

Re: floppy outboard

sounds like the shaft seals are leaking, you can buy a kit and replace them then bleed the air from the system.<br /> teleflex has an email addy for tech assist and dealer locations that can be googled.<br />response time is very good.<br />its a common problem and some of the later cylinders are even worse.

Re: floppy outboard

I thought I bought the right seals online but when they arrived it was a set of helm seals. I poked around on line but am having a hard time finding what I need. Help!!

Re: floppy outboard

go the the iboats store, call the 1-800 #, they are very helpful. they had teleflex contact me direct. they will get you what you need.