Bravo III sloppy steering

[sebagoman007]

Greetings all.

It's been a while since I came to the forum with a problem, but I'm hoping someone has had a similar experience to this new one. I seem to have a lot of slack in the steering on my 2000 260DA. I also noticed that after w hauled out last year that I could move the outdrive back and forth quite a bit by hand without the wheel turning. My mechanic (whom I trust as a straight shooter) says the problem is with the pivot pin at the top of the gimbal assembly, that the nut has backed off and is what is causing all this slack. Unfortunately, he believes the entire powertrain has to come out to get that fixed, as you can't access it from either inside or outside of the boat. It sounds like the classic case of a $2 part failing that requires a bazillion hours to access. I'm pursuing some other opinions (a master Sea Ray tech from Port Marine in S. Portland is supposed to stop by) but i was wondering what your collective experiences might be. I don't think I'll be completely comfortable until it's fixed right, but if it isn't going to fail completely on me I might opt to do this repair after the season. It's too short up here as it is for me to waste any of it on dry land!

Thanks in advance,

 

[Henry Boyd]

Bill,

Just went through the same thing. If it is the pin, there is a Mercury fix that involves drilling holes in each side of the transom. There is also a fix by a company JRmarine.com, that cuts a port in the back face. JRmarine also reconditions the gimbal ring and sells upgrade / replacement pins and u-bolts. That will save you about 700-800 of a $ 1300 parts bill.

I ended up buying a new gimbal ring rather than re-conditioning my old one. The shop couldn't tie floor space wating for old parts to go out for reconnditioning and return. If you decide to go ahead let me know. I have some unused JRmarine parts I bought, as well as my old ring. I have to return the parts for a credit, but if you are interested I'll pass them along to you for what I paid. PM me if you want to chat.

Henry

 

[sebagoman007]

Wow, that was quick! Thanks Henry, I would indeed like to chat. I have a whole bunch of questions, I'll PM you. Or, should we do it here so everyone can benefit from your experience?

Bill

 

[Nehalennia]

Sorry to hear about that Bill. Have you received an estimate to R&R the engine to fix it as they recommend?

I think I'd bite the bullet rather than drill big holes in the transom, but if that repair bill is over $1000, which I'm sure it's close or more, I may send my 7yo son in there.

 

[sebagoman007]

Oh, so you're having the same issue too, Todd? Sorry to hear it. It's beginning to sound to me like it's chronic for BIIIs of our vintage, especially salt water ones.

I'm sort of wondering why you couldn't go down through the floor of the lazarette compartment. (trunk) Those holes would be above the waterline, repairable and reuseable by installing a couple of flush deck plates and out of sight when the job is complete.

Dunno if I'd have the faith in a 7 year old to get everything back together correctly, though. That''s your call, not mine. lol

Cheers,

 

[Henry Boyd]

Todd,
Using the Mercury approach two holes are drilled in the top side of the transom ring. These are about 1" in diameter. This allows access to the nut and pinch bolt that secures the steering arm to the top of the pin, and the big nut that sits on top of the pin and holds it all together. When the work is complete, the two holes are tapped, and flush threaded plugs are screwed in sealing it. up. The JRmarine approach cuts a rectangular hole in the back face of the top of the transom ring.

See this link by Quint4

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17425.

Henry

 

[Nehalennia]

Oh, so you're having the same issue too, Todd? Sorry to hear it. It's beginning to sound to me like it's chronic for BIIIs of our vintage, especially salt water ones.

I'm sort of wondering why you couldn't go down through the floor of the lazarette compartment. (trunk) Those holes would be above the waterline, repairable and reuseable by installing a couple of flush deck plates and out of sight when the job is complete.

Dunno if I'd have the faith in a 7 year old to get everything back together correctly, though. That''s your call, not mine. lol

Cheers,

No, I'm not having that issue. I guess I mis-stated that. I meant if I had that issue, I may send Luke in there with a wrench set.

Todd,
Using the Mercury approach two holes are drilled in the top side of the transom ring. These are about 1" in diameter. This allows access to the nut and pinch bolt that secures the steering arm to the top of the pin, and the big nut that sits on top of the pin and holds it all together. When the work is complete, the two holes are tapped, and flush threaded plugs are screwed in sealing it. up. The JRmarine approach cuts a rectangular hole in the back face of the top of the transom ring.

See this link by Quint4

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17425.

Henry

Is this like the proceedure "Quint" just went through when he cut out a 2" x 3-4" rectangular section out of the top of the transom plate?

 

[unlvrebel]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but are there any other causes for sloppy steering? I can't move my outdrive back and forth, but I do have play in the steerwheel. Quite a lot by my standards - probably two inches.

 

[Quint4]

"Is this like the proceedure "Quint" just went through when he cut out a 2" x 3-4" rectangular section out of the top of the transom plate?"

YES

 

[Henry Boyd]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but are there any other causes for sloppy steering? I can't move my outdrive back and forth, but I do have play in the steerwheel. Quite a lot by my standards - probably two inches.

Sorry,

We skipped over the little problems. other possible sources:
The steering cable housing may have loosened up where it connects to the power assist cylinder.

The cable itself can be bad, or

The steering hub can also be bad.

You have to go through each one and rule out the possibility.

The problem we are talking about is pretty easy to diagnose if the boat is out of the water. Hold the drive and try to swing it port to starboard. While doing this look at the top pf the gimbal ring. If the ring is moving around the pin then there is the problem.

Henry

 

[keokie]

It probably is the gimbal. The repair that Quint mentions as well as the Merc one are viable solutions. If there are no other issues that warrant replacing the transom assembly or pulling the motor, I would go that route.

There are two bolts on the top of the gimbal assembly (9/16, or 5/8, I can't remember). These should be torqued to 55lb/ft, and checked on a very regular basis (like every 20 -40 hours).