Loose steering arm

[dirtyoldman]

I have the engine out of my boat for a new transom, and the mechanic that pulled the engine says the steering arm is loose where it attaches to the gimbal ring. It does appear to be loose, but I am in shock about the $1000 repair cost for this. The gimbal housing is already off the boat.

It's an 87 sea ray 21' with 260hp.

Does this seem abotu right? What's involved with the process? Why is it so expensive? Can the parts be repaired?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Loose steering arm

If you can remove the arm and the square upper shaft it can be repaired to achieve a tight fit again.
PM me if interested..

 

[dirtyoldman]

Re: Loose steering arm

If it's all the same to you, I'd rather post on here so others can benefit from your answer. I had a very hard time finding anything about this topic in the archives.

I did discover that there are two bolts that clamp down on this part and I might be able to tighten it up just by doing this. I am also wondering if I can just weld up the aluminum gimbal ring and remachine it.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Loose steering arm

The FIRST thing that you should do is grab your torque wrench and retorque those two gimbal ring clamping bolts to 55 ft lb. In a lot of cases that is all that you need to do. That seems WAY expensive, sounds like he wants to sell you a new gimbal ring. If it is the steering arm you should be able to do it yourself especially if the housing is off.

 

[dirtyoldman]

Re: Loose steering arm

The FIRST thing that you should do is grab your torque wrench and retorque those two gimbal ring clamping bolts to 55 ft lb. In a lot of cases that is all that you need to do. That seems WAY expensive, sounds like he wants to sell you a new gimbal ring. If it is the steering arm you should be able to do it yourself especially if the housing is off.

He did say I needed the gimbal ring, but he didn't mentioning tightening it. He doesn't want me to mess with the thing while it's off in case something doesn't go back together right. I can understand that, but it's frustrating here because I feel like I'm getting the run around.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Loose steering arm

Does this seem abotu right? What's involved with the process? Why is it so expensive? Can the parts be repaired?

There is an excellent section on gimbal ring repair in the Mercruiser Alpha 1 repair section. "adults only", #9, Manual #6, transom repair major, section 4B. Ask your mechanic.

 

[shimano]

Re: Loose steering arm

A friend got the same news from a marina and after I retourqued those two bolts it removed all the play in her steering.She was extremely happy.They should be retourqed yearly.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Loose steering arm

A loose steering arm has NOTHING repeat NOTHING to do with the gimbal ring itself. The arm attaches directly to the upper swivel shaft, and if the gimbal ring is tight on that shaft the ring DOES NOT need to be replaced. You are about to get shafted in my opinion. INSIST that he tighten those bolts to spec. Or do it yourself, nothing is coming apart, you are just retorquing two bolts, should be part of annual maintenance anyway.

 

[dirtyoldman]

Re: Loose steering arm

A loose steering arm has NOTHING repeat NOTHING to do with the gimbal ring itself. The arm attaches directly to the upper swivel shaft, and if the gimbal ring is tight on that shaft the ring DOES NOT need to be replaced. You are about to get shafted in my opinion. INSIST that he tighten those bolts to spec. Or do it yourself, nothing is coming apart, you are just retorquing two bolts, should be part of annual maintenance anyway.

I called him this morning to ask him if he tried retorquing the bolts. He said no, but it makes no difference anyway.

I'm not going to get into a pissing match with him. He's getting on my nerves screwing around with stuff on the boat and I don't want to use him, even if I have to pay extra somewhere else. I've been asking him since friday for a price on the exhaust flappers and still don't have it. He hasn't ordered them, and he's supposed to reinstall the engine on thursday. He hasn't given me a price on anything else either.

So, I'll retorque the bolts after I get it back and see if that makes a difference. If not I'll pull the motor back out this winter and redo it then.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Loose steering arm

I don't want to use him, even if I have to pay extra somewhere else

Sounds like a good idea! NOT saying that he would do it, but I'll bet more than one gimbal ring has been removed repainted and put back on as a new one. BTW your shutters (flappers) should be about $60 each ( http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Show...6.png&inbr=1014&bnbr=370&bdesc=EXHAUST+SYSTEM ) and take a minimal amount of time to install. mercruiserparts.com is a good source for parts breakdowns. Good luck!!