Lost All Steering on Bravo 3 Outdrive

[dremison]

Well, after this job I still have quite a bit of slop in my outdrive. I KNOW it isn't the gimbal ring or steering pin and I have been led down the path of thinking it is either an actuator problem or more likely the the power steering control valve. This is all based on research, however, and I am looking for some advice on how to troubleshoot this issue.
Symptoms are as follows:
-Loose outdrive when out of the water (easily turned by hand, and the most concerning part). I noticed it when they lifted the boat out of the water to store at the marina.
-Some play in the steering while driving
Thank you in advance for the help and looking forward to hearing back!
Bravo 3 Outdrive
Mercruiser 5.0 Engine
Sea Ray 240 Sundeck

 

[Lou C]

How much play is there in your helm unit?

 

[Fun Times]

If you haven't yet, the beginning test you'd want to do is try carefully turning the outdrive by hand while the engine is running to see if the play goes away while under power steering hydraulic pressure then/also watch all the steering components (from wheel to lever at the drive) inside the boat to see if the play is excessive while turning the drive.

If engine is off, then some movement isn't too much of an unusual to notice especially on a bravo 3 with the heavier 2 props down there.

 

[dremison]

If you haven't yet, the beginning test you'd want to do is try carefully turning the outdrive by hand while the engine is running to see if the play goes away while under power steering hydraulic pressure then/also watch all the steering components (from wheel to lever at the drive) inside the boat to see if the play is excessive while turning the drive.

If engine is off, then some movement isn't too much of an unusual to notice especially on a bravo 3 with the heavier 2 props down there.

I will head to the marina tomorrow afternoon to take a look and I will keep you posted. Thank you for the quick response.

 

[dremison]

With the engine on, the play did not continue. I am not sure how far to pursue this, or if it is even an issue at this point. The owner of my marina said it is noticeably more loose than other Bravo 3s when it gets pulled out of the water, but I am sure I will have bigger fish to fry. Either way, I have attached a video of the steering mechanisms in action, but I am not sure if it is helpful or not.

I have been chasing an electrical issue on this boat for almost as long as I have owned it. If my batteries sit for more than a couple weeks, they are dying - specifically my #1 battery, which has the radio, bilge, and another 20A fuse hard wired to it. I have my starter battery in that position and my deep cycle battery in the #2 position - that one doesn't have anything hard wired to it.