Adjusting steering, I got to much play?

[hostage]

I have about 6" of play in my steering wheel. This is making it a royal pain the butt to steer at low speeds. Is there an easy way to adjust how much play the steering wheel has?

Thanks in advance,
Hostage

 

[Bondo]

Re: Adjusting steering, I got to much play?

I have about 6" of play in my steering wheel. This is making it a royal pain the butt to steer at low speeds. Is there an easy way to adjust how much play the steering wheel has?

Thanks in advance,
Hostage

Ayuh,... Hard to say,... Ya gotta tell Us what you've got....

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Adjusting steering, I got to much play?

hydraulic, cable, or rope & pulley?

 

[hostage]

Re: Adjusting steering, I got to much play?

That is a good question, the boat is a 2000 Maxum 1900SC w/ a 4.3L Merc (190hp). I did have the bellows, gimble, thorttle cable and impeller recently changed which had no impact on the steering. The drive it self doesn't have any slop, it only appears to be on the wheel side. I looked under the helm and it looked like wheel has bullet magazines attached into it. They are a couple inches wide and about 9 inches long.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Adjusting steering, I got to much play?

Sounds like a rack system. I have personally found a rotary to have a little less slop. (put a brand new rack system in my last boat and a brand new rotary into the current one)

 

[hostage]

Re: Adjusting steering, I got to much play?

I looked up on Maxum's Catalog on their old website and it said this for the part: "CABLE,STEERING,15', RACK"

I don't know if that helps

 

[Bondo]

Re: Adjusting steering, I got to much play?

That is a good question, the boat is a 2000 Maxum 1900SC w/ a 4.3L Merc (190hp). I did have the bellows, gimble, thorttle cable and impeller recently changed which had no impact on the steering. The drive it self doesn't have any slop, it only appears to be on the wheel side. I looked under the helm and it looked like wheel has bullet magazines attached into it. They are a couple inches wide and about 9 inches long.

Ayuh,... So you've got rack, 'n pinion....
Where, Exactly is the slop,..??
Only you can see it, We can't...
If the rack, 'n pinion are the culprit, Pull it, 'n Replace it with the Same parts...

I'd suspect if this only happens are idle speeds, there's Nothin' wrong...
It's just V-hull wander...
Less operator input usually cures it....

 

[hostage]

Re: Adjusting steering, I got to much play?

I understand about the v-hull wonder, at slow speeds and have to say I mastered it fairly well. It is annoying knowing I have about 6" of play. I can sit in the driveway and I can turn the wheel 6" and my g/f says the lower unit doesn't turn. It feels very light and when it starts to turn the lower unit, you feel the resitance in the wheel. Are most boats suppose to be able to turn the wheel up to 6" before any change occurs. How exactly does a rack and penion fail, you eat some of the teeth or something? There is no slop on the lower unit it feels rock solid and either way I push it, I feel a lot of resitance.