So I'm doing some winter repairs on my 272 formula. I have starboard motor, drive and transom assembly removed. I noticed some slack where the steering arm connects to the pin. I was able to tighten everything back up, pinch bolt and nut on top were both loose. Now will these stay tight or should I replace the steering pin and seal? The port side is going to come apart too after I get this one done.

Also I have noticed I have 2 different transom assembly's port appears to be original and starboard is newer with out the step outs for trim switches. Also starboard does not have a grease fitting on top for the steering pin. Are parts interchangeable between these and is it worth changing one to match or is it just cosmetic ?

That top nut is used to set the lower pin clearance by raising/lowering the gimble ring, and not just a tighten till it's tight.

Yes if I recall the clearance is supposed to be .01- .002. I've got that set but does the pinch bolt on the steering arm need to be tightened often ?

I'd guess 99.9% of the time that bolt is never touched, unless there is an issue of steering slop. It's not an item that can be accessed w/o removing the motor and then the transom assembly on units that have not been modified by either the plastic caps or cutting the back out and then recovering with a plate. And both those mods are done when the slop has gotten to a point where repair is needed.

I just ordered stainless pins and all the bushings and seals for both of my drives from Ron at jrmarine. He's a great guy to deal with.

I did the JRmarine kit and its very nice, and easy to do. But after one summer of use, I developed a ton of steering slop, I thought it was the cable, or something wore out again, which was impossible in my book. It was a new gimbal, and I ordered the stainless steel pin..Well I took the cover plate back off the transom assembly, and the top nut was loose, but when I tightened it back up the slop was gone...but I didn't know it wasn't a tighten till tight nut??