Sundancer 270 SeaRay Sloppy steering

[Doug Shields]

I seems that my steering wheel is quite sloppy. There is about 5" of play back an forth. At slow idle speed, I have to be turning the wheel back and forth to keep the boat from woundering. Is this normal? Can I tighten the wheel up? Does anybody have PDF of the manual for this adjustment?

 

[Plane 2 Sea]

Hey Doug..I'm up your way. I'm guessing you have hydraulic steering. Perhaps you need fluid in the resevoir..which means you might have a leak..PM me f you like..Mark

 

[Quint4]

It is possible that your gimbal ring is worn out. Common problem.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Doug,

A big block with a BIII is more likely to have cable steering with power assist piston at the transom. There is no adjustment. Any slop in the steering is the result of wear.


A more likely problem is that the gimble ring top pin is shot. Quint4 did an excellent pictorial of repairing this condition last year.

Real quickly the pin goes up through the bottom of the ring at the 12:00 position. There is also a pin at the 6:00 position. The head of the pin recesses into the ring. The top of the ring has a split in it. There is a SS u-bolt through the top of the ring. This gets tightened, pulls the top of the ring together, and clamps the pin in place in the ring. The other end of the pin is threaded and the steering lever attached to that. The u-bolts loosen, either by the nuts backing off, or the bolt stretching. That allows the bolt head to beat up the aluminum recess in the ring. When you turn the wheel the steering lever and pin turn, but the ring stays put until the head jams in the recess.

If the boat is out of the water you can check for this real easy. While watching the top of the ring where the pin is located push the drive port/stbd. If the ring turns before the pin does, the pin is loose in the top of the ring. Sometimes, in the early stages you can re-torque the u-bolt, being careful not to break. However the amount you describe does not sound promising.

It is possible that the steering rack has gone, but this is less likely a possibility.

Henry