Hard steering with Alpha Gen II Not the cable, cable tube or gimble ring

[pachanga22]

I've read up on diagnosing the hard steering issues with this setup and cannot find the problem aside from replacing either the hoses,rack or pump.
This is a freshwater low hour boat with no corrosion. The cable is greased and not corroded inside the tube of the rack. I had everything disconnected and it all moves freely.
I ran the motor and manually actuated the rack while it was disconnected from the cable and tiller arm. The ram did cycle in and out but not very fast. 10 seconds or so each way. The flats of the tube are vertical.
When driving the boat it feels fully manual. Trim up feels worse. If I try to turn quickly it feels like the rack is fighting me.
I don't see much oil flow in the pump. I don't know if this is normal.
Hoses don't look kinked anywhere. Pump has no leaks and was never run dry.
I cannot move the outdrive manually outside of the boat with the engine off. Is that normal?
Can bad u-joints cause this?
Please help, Thanks

 

[alldodge]

Howdy

My guess is either the steering ram needs replaced or the pump. To find out if its the pump you need a 3000 psi pressure gauge. My guess is it would be the pump, but its just a guess right now

 

[achris]

It does sound like the pump is not producing enough flow. Pumps produce flow, not pressure. Pressure is a result of a resistance to that flow.

One result of low flow is that under demand the pressure drops too far. As suggested, get yourself a pressure gauge and look to see if there is a significant drop in pressure.

Chris.

 

[pachanga22]

I found the bypass in the pump was stuck open. I had to drill the pump to push it out. I then used the spring in a new Saginaw pump from Advance Auto part#20-860.I have yet to test the system yet bu twanted to update my findings. I have pics if I can figure out how to load them.

 

[alldodge]

I found the bypass in the pump was stuck open. I had to drill the pump to push it out. I then used the spring in a new Saginaw pump from Advance Auto part#20-860.I have yet to test the system yet bu twanted to update my findings. I have pics if I can figure out how to load them.

Just a note: While the regular auto PS pump works for a boat, the difference is the pressure valve which screws into the back. An auto uses less pressure then a boat, so if the boat valve is not used there will not be enough pressure. The valve pressure can be increased but takes some changes.