I have and old but very nice 1981 Ranger I/O with a GMC 3.8 and an OMC 800 out drive that I have owned owned for about 5 years. This unit has a power steering system that appears to consist of a pump, shuttle valve, cooler, and actuator piston. The system worked fine for the first several years of ownership. Then I noted an increased resistance to turning and detected a growling sound and my repair shop in Fort Worth replaced the pump which seamed to work. A couple of months latter I had the same shop replace the ball gears which turned into an overhaul of the out drive because of bad bearings. By the following winter it felt like the power steering had become completely nonfunctional. The boat sat for about 8 months then I took it back to the same shop where they tried swapping out the power steering pump, then the shuttle valve, then the actuator piston and cleaned the cooler. I picked up the boat and took it to the lake this weekend and there was no change in the power steering. It still feels like it is completely inoperative. The shop did say that I had a lot of drag in the steering cable and would replace for an additional $500.
Any idea what the problem can be, I am about to give up on my repair shop.
Any idea what the problem can be, I am about to give up on my repair shop.