Boat pulls hard to the left- it's not the trim tab or trim fin. Looking for help...

[Jack_R]

Hi,

I've got a '98 Chris Craft BR 190 with a Volvo Penta SX outdrive, 4.3L engine, and power steering. I've been running it happily and reliably for years now. My boat suddenly developed a problem last weekend...

This problem appeared suddenly last weekend in the middle of a cruise, so something obviously went wrong. All was good... I was putt-putting through a no-wake zone, and when I went to accelerate out of it the wheel wanted to turn left. If I let go of it the boat will go hard left.

Under acceleration from a stop it pulls extremely hard to the left. At cruising speed with the drive trimmed level it still pulls to the left. If I trim the drive up the problem isn't quite as bad.

The pull to the left under acceleration is really strong. I need to keep the wheel cranked hard to the right with both hands to get the boat to go straight!

The prop is in perfect shape. The boat does not have trim tabs or a trim fin on the drive. The steering moves freely when the boat is going slowly or stopped. I didn't hit anything while I was out. I can't see anything obviously amiss with the drive.

Any ideas?

Thanks for any help you can offer! I'm supposed to have some friends over to do some water skiing in a couple of weeks, so I'm desperate to fix the problem!

 

[ziggy]

Any ideas?

i know nothing of yer system.
but i'd think i'd look at the power steering system ya got. starting with have ya got any power steering fluid in the system. also a oem service manual may be helpful with what to look for and the specs that your system requires.

 

[JimS123]

A right hand prop would normally pull to the right. That's why they put a trim tab on the lower unit - to adjust it to a neutral torque. With power steering the tab would be left off. Looks like your power steering quit on you.

 

[Jack_R]

Thanks for the tips on the power steering. I'm confused about one thing, though. If the power steering died, I could see why it would be hard to hold the wheel centered to go straight. But, as it is right now, to go straight I actually have to *turn* the wheel pretty far to the right. Maybe 90 degrees or so. Does that make any sense? Wouldn't that mean the drive is turned, so the boat would be sort of crabbing to go straight?

Hopefully I'm missing a key point here, and I just need power steering fluid!

Thanks for your help,

Jack

 

[wrvond]

That's a good point concerning having to actually turn the wheel to the right to keep going straight. At first I thought it was the power steering also, but with that extra bit of information I'm thinking the left gimbal mount may have let go. At low speed, there isn't a lot of torque being applied to the out drive, but as you increase speed, that torque increases, allowing the out drive to twist inside the gimbal.
That's my theory, anyway.

 

[Ike-110722]

Many years ago I saw the same thing in a different brand. I think you are right, something in the mounting system broke.. You need to take a good look at the whole steering system and the mounting of the out drive. You more than likely have to pull the drive off the boat.

 

[Jack_R]

This is a dumb question- where would I be able to see the left gimbal mount? Is that inside the transom, or outside?

 

[wrvond]

The gimbal ring is mounted to the outside of the transom. Your out drive "hangs" from it from two points (port and stbd.) and the gimbal itself is mounted top and bottom. This is what allows the out drive to turn left and right and move up and down.
Stand behind the boat and have a helper operate the steering lock to lock while you listen (and feel) for any klunking. Also have them run the out drive full up and full down while you observe the operation. What you are looking for are bad bearings.
Here is a picture of a gimbal ring. Hope this helps.

 

[Jack_R]

Thanks!!! That helps a lot!