IO steering

[Woodbutcher1949]

My 2000 Cobalt IO is now taking both hands to turn, it was checked at local shop, cable is free moving, pump is good. Outdrive has excessive movement side to side. He told me it "could be" pivot and gimble ring, $3000 to fix. Anyone with similar experience?

 

[Scott Danforth]

define what you mean requires two hands

are you saying that it is that difficult to move that you require both hands to make a turn?


define what you mean by excessive slop

you have slop in the helm, slop in the steering actuator, slop in the pivot assembly and of course, the infamous V-hull bow wander at slow speeds (all v-hull boats have wander at slow speeds)

if you do have a sloppy pivot pin, pull the motor, pull the drive and do it yourself for about $100

 

[tpenfield]

Welcome to iBoats . . .

It would be good for the shop to isolate the cause a bit more precisely rather than taking a $3K shot in the dark.

What engine / outdrive you got?

 

[harringtondav]

^^^Yes, which outdrive do you have, and which year?
If it is a Mercruiser +-1990 on with "new style" steering valve it could be your steering cable. New style doesn't have the valve at the steering wheel, but connected to the steering cable sheath at the transom. Mine seemed to be loose and "fine" when disconnected from the steering tiller, but it had enough internal drag to foul the 'push-pull' valve actuator. I checked the entire system, including measuring PS pump pressure. A new steering cable fixed the issue.

 

[Chris1956]

Is it hard to turn at idle, in neutral or at cruise?

 

[harringtondav]

Assuming Mercruiser, remove the actuator clevis from the steering arm/tiller and crank the steering wheel full port/left to get the clevis out of the way.
Go the the stern and manually push the outdrive full travel left to right. It should swing 'easily' ...without much effort. It would have taken a significant impact, or unusual pivot pin/bushing wear to cause binding. ....I reckon VP's setup is similar, so this check should also apply.
Excessive outdrive movement with the actuator/tiller connected could have several main causes. Severely worn pivot pin/bushings, loose tiller arm to pivot, loose or worn actuator pivot bolt, loose or worn bell housing to gimbal ring pivot pins, loose gimbal ring to pivot.
The last two can be inspected/tightened from outside the boat. The actuator pivot bolt can be accessed from inside.
Again, my 16 yr old steering cable moved freely when disconnected, but had enough internal drag to make the control valve ineffective. Cable replacement was a night and day improvement. From two strong arm steering to single finger steering.

 

[poconojoe]

Do you trust the mechanic?
You can research it yourself easily by process of elimination.

My steering became very hard. It took two hands to turn the wheel.

At first I thought it was the steering actuator, ram or whatever it's called. I thought it was jammed up with dried up grease.
Then I disconnected the steering cable from the engine side and it was still tough, so I knew it was the cable.
Replaced the cable and what a difference.

 

[harringtondav]

Do you trust the mechanic?
You can research it yourself easily by process of elimination.

Exactly. Shops charge the same hourly rate for diagnostics as they do for repairs. You can save yourself significant money by isolating the problem and tell the mechanic "fix this" vs. "find the problem and fix it".
Part costs will be the same either way, but if you control things getting 'sell up' parts won't happen.

 

[Bondo]

My 2000 Cobalt IO is now taking both hands to turn, it was checked at local shop, cable is free moving, pump is good. Outdrive has excessive movement side to side. He told me it "could be" pivot and gimble ring, $3000 to fix. Anyone with similar experience?

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,....... Which I/O, by whom,..??..??