leaky steering upper seal/swivel pin

[Cdn20valve]

1996 donzi 3250 LXC. twin mercruiser 5.7 LX EFI bravo 3

I noticed some water coming in the boat lately. A very slow leak. It turns out its the upper steering seal. the area near the steering arm is wet. worse while trolling when the rear of the boat is more submerged.

I plan on accessing the area using the JR Marine kit. (I've used it before on my previous boat). Last time I did this repair, I used an amazon SS swivel pin. I noticed that Hardin marine sells a stronger heat treated SS pin. It's about 6 times the cost of the amazon ones Can anyone let me know if it's worth the extra cost? I know the previous SS pin was good for atleat 3 years, until i sold the boat. but this boat is a keeper. I need to know if it's overkill, or worth the extra dough.
thanks,

Lou

 

[Bt Doctur]

when your done install the missing grease fitting ,

 

[BillWilliams]

I used a SS pin from Hill Marine which is also a heat treated pin. I also got a heat treated U bolt from Hill Marine for clamping the pin in the gimbal ring. The pin was much more expensive, as you stated, compared to the ones you find on Amazon. I talked with Hill Marine and he claimed the cheaper ones are dimensionally identical but they are more malleable and could de-form over time. I decided the job is such a pain, I didn't want to have to do it again so that's why I went with the stronger one.

I took a look at the one at Hardin Marine and it is significantly higher than the one at Hill Marine. I can't say much about the one at Hardin, but I have used the one from Hill on two different boats with no issues. The current boat was done 4 years ago and I held onto the prior boat for several seasons before we sold it and had no issues.