3.0 mercruiser alpha 1 - aligning steering wheel?

[BF]

Hiya,

I saw a section in the manual for bleeding and rebalancing the power steering system (?), but.... I don't think it's applicable to my problem... my "problem" is really just a cosmetic one... when going straight ahead, the steering wheel is off by bout 75 degrees.... no biggie, but it just kind of bugs me. There is no pull or anything else like that, just the steering wheel is off a bit.

My guess is that there may be an adjustment for the steering cable in order to fix this (?). It has a teleflex rack and pinion system with power steering. Looks like a sealed square tube under the dash, so I imagine the adjustment (if there is one) must be on the other end (?). FYI, boat is a 1990 SeaRay 160 BR. 3.0 alpha one (gen 1).

Any advice/help is appreciated.

Thx.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 3.0 mercruiser alpha 1 - aligning steering wheel?

my "problem" is really just a cosmetic one...

Ayuh,... Get a steering wheel that doesn't have an Up, or down, or port, or starboard...
Like a SSteel Destroyer Wheel...

 

[BF]

Re: 3.0 mercruiser alpha 1 - aligning steering wheel?

does the wheel just pull off those teledyne systems? If so, maybe a previous owner had removed it, but put it back on with splines mis-aligned. (?).

I'd live with it before shelling out $$ for a new wheel.

No adjustment?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 3.0 mercruiser alpha 1 - aligning steering wheel?

Most of the time the rack will unbolt. You need to set the motor straight, unbolt the rack, turn the wheel to be straight and rebolt it. It may not be achievable to get it perfect, but it will be close.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 3.0 mercruiser alpha 1 - aligning steering wheel?

does the wheel just pull off those teledyne systems? If so, maybe a previous owner had removed it, but put it back on with splines mis-aligned. (?).

Ayuh,... It's a 3/4" Tapered shaft with a single key,... No splines,+ so it only fits in 1 spot...

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: 3.0 mercruiser alpha 1 - aligning steering wheel?

You may get lucky and have an aftermarket multi-slotted wheel..

I just got a killer wheel from here on iboats (screaming deal, btw, even with shipping)

The actual tapered shaft indeed has one key..But the wheel I got had multiple slots to help align it.
The old wheel was exactly as Bond-O stated, one groove, one position.

 

[BF]

Re: 3.0 mercruiser alpha 1 - aligning steering wheel?

You may get lucky and have an aftermarket multi-slotted wheel..

I just got a killer wheel from here on iboats (screaming deal, btw, even with shipping)

The actual tapered shaft indeed has one key..But the wheel I got had multiple slots to help align it.
The old wheel was exactly as Bond-O stated, one groove, one position.

Thx... I'll check it out when I'm back at the boat...