Lost All Steering on Bravo 3 Outdrive

[dremison]

Well, after this job I still have quite a bit of slop in my outdrive. I KNOW it isn't the gimbal ring or steering pin and I have been led down the path of thinking it is either an actuator problem or more likely the the power steering control valve. This is all based on research, however, and I am looking for some advice on how to troubleshoot this issue.
Symptoms are as follows:
-Loose outdrive when out of the water (easily turned by hand, and the most concerning part). I noticed it when they lifted the boat out of the water to store at the marina.
-Some play in the steering while driving
Thank you in advance for the help and looking forward to hearing back!
Bravo 3 Outdrive
Mercruiser 5.0 Engine
Sea Ray 240 Sundeck

 

[Lou C]

How much play is there in your helm unit?

 

[Fun Times]

If you haven't yet, the beginning test you'd want to do is try carefully turning the outdrive by hand while the engine is running to see if the play goes away while under power steering hydraulic pressure then/also watch all the steering components (from wheel to lever at the drive) inside the boat to see if the play is excessive while turning the drive.

If engine is off, then some movement isn't too much of an unusual to notice especially on a bravo 3 with the heavier 2 props down there.