Budget hydraulic steering upgrades?
 

I currently have an IMCO single ram external hydraulic steering system on my Velocity. It is cable steering back to the steering actuator. The actuator is still hooked up to the gimble steering point, as well as supplying pressure to the external ram. At speeds of 65+, I really feel the slop in the cable when chine walking starts. My steering wheel has about 4 inches or so of slop. Are there tighter cables on the market that would work, or is this resident in all cable steering systems? I saw on CP where they had a dual cable steering system. What is that?
If I found a hydraulic helm (I can make my own hoses), where would it connect to my actuator? How about Seastar? Can I do away with my power steering all together and go with a manual Seastar? Or can the Seastar augment the power steering?
Yes, I am on a budget. :-(

Dual cable systems are manual systems usually used on outboards to help lessen torque steer, it kind sounds like something is loose in your present setup. I have a partial hydraulic system with dual rams on my eliminator & it does'nt move at all. I would check your cable nut at the actuator & check the rack at the helm for loose bolts,worn teeth, also check the steering arm that the acuator to see if there is any slop there also. You can disconnect the external ram & see if you have any slop & go from there. Hope that helps, Randy

check your gimbal too...might be sloppy there.

if you find a helm you would run it through your power steering pump and you would be full hydraulic and be done. If not you can buy a new rotary helm and steering cable for like $150 and it would take a little of the slop out.

No slop in the gimble or ram assembly. The actuator is new as well (had a leak). I can't budge it at all when outside the boat and putting all my 260 pounds behind it. It is definitely in the cable and/or helm.

The dual cable system I found on CP is not a true dual cable system as I believe Randy is referring to. (i.e. 2 separate cables) It has two points in the helm where the cable meets the steering gears instead of the single point like most helms. After some research, I see that this takes most all slop out of the cable steering assembly. Something to think about on a budget.

I reread this thread to see if I missed anything. You have a stock p/s cable system with an imco add on hydraulic external ram correct? Your steering wheel has 4" of slop @ 65mph, you feel it when the boat starts chine walking correct? What about low speed (around the dock)? It really sounds like the cable nut loosened a little bit, it wouldnt take much for that amount of slop. 1 turn on that nut can be 1-2" of play but you should be able to feel it by turning the wheel back & forth running or not. The rotary systems on cp are ok for standard use but keep in mind the cable connects to the helm with 1 small spring clip I am interested to know what you find. Randy

with a hyd helm you would connect to existing actuator by snagging it with a fish hook after float testing it...as far as existing play, the nut on the transom end of cable can feel tight, but still have play in end where cable attaches to actuator. my threads were galled and i had about 1/4 inch of slop in mine. i hadda remove big nut and grind off a couple of bad threads and it screwed down tight. first step is to have somebody rock wheel back and forth thru the play while visually inspecting it for the looseness. since you have hyd back half, i don't think it is the tiller arm going thru transom. it isn't used any more except as an idler arm. both ends of steering cable will be most likely culprits.

I have the same setup on my Velocity just not as much free play. The problem on mine is the cable helm unit. I've checked with several aftermarket companies on a better cable helm. They all say I will have the same problem over time. I have resolved myself to go to full hydraulic. I found a hydraulic shop in Michigan that supplies the Char Lynn unit and custom hoses to order at the best price I have found so far. You can get new helms from CP or Hardin. Check out Fluid Systems Engineering and ask for Jim Kaufman at 586-790-8880. My wife doesn't like the little dance the boat likes to do above 80. So you could say I'm doing it for her.

I have a new 3" steering column for full Hyd helm if somebody needs one...came with my hardin kit but would work on my boat, as lines hit the gauges...

they do make a dual cable mercruiser powersteering system. I just threw a complete dual cable setup in the trash out of my Fountain. It would be much safer than your single...but go full hydraulic and get rid of the cables. Cutting all that crap out and throwing it away was a happy day for me!