steering issues
 

very curious to know if anyone with factory installed, cable operated, power assisted steering, has had a complete or partial failure, in any FasTec hulls produced say between 2000 to 2008...

or has had a gimble helmet break, and seperate the drive from the transom assembly..

please feel free to PM if necessary, if privacy is a concern

thanx

We have a 2003 292 fastech that we had to have full hydraulic steering installed because of the steering slop from worn or loose gimbal assy. Full hydraulic is the only way to go.

how did just adding the hydraulic steering fix the gimble slop?

did the ORIGINAL cable fail?

how many hours before you did the upgrade?

thanx

I'm trying to think of a Fastech Hull that does not have external steering ? MF will know ....Not sure about your reason for the question...Trying to decide if it's really necessary? I know one thing .....it's the BEST improvment I have done ....m

In all my years as a Formula dealer,never had a steering issue at all,period,that was related to Formula.Many years ago Merc had an issue with the steering shaft in the gimbel housing,it was a Merc issue,not a Formula issue,Merc changed the design and eliminated the problem,but it had nothing to do with Formula.Many 271's, 292's,and some 496 353's had no Lathum steering,just regular Merc power steering,with mechanical cable, but aside from the fact that Lathum had better feel and better handling,I never had an issue,or any failure. I guess,I too, would respectfully ask,what is the reason for your question?

this is a 2006 353 with 496's that had mechanical steering cable, inner tie bar and external Latham tie bar... cable is visibly broken, steering wheel spins freely, and steering arm on one engine broke inside the gimble somewhere, not sure what broke first... one drive left the transom assembly as a result of a major mid speed spinout, but not a rollover, and resultant serious permanent injuries, no ejection... 109 hour boat.... it's now a bloody mess... steering cable was also replaced under warranty within the first 20 hours of operation, and before the boat was delivered new... VERY knowledgable multi Formula owner... not pointing fingers, just looking for any past instances, for reference to necessary repairs, or upgrades... we have heard before, and we are looking into the past Merc reference, for the steering arm issue.

thanx

Oh boy i feel for the partys involved:(

Somebody told me once ,that it is not ok to run a inner and outer tiebar !!!! He said it can crack the gimbal.

They press against the drives to much when steering or trimming.
Its always one or the other on a cable steering ?!

Just my 2 c.

[QUOTE=BUIZILLA;2719012] .. steering cable was also replaced under warranty within the first 20 hours of operation, and before the boat was delivered new... /QUOTE]


Dang ......sumthin's not right .....

this is very interesting, we also conclusively found that the departing drive appears to have had a cracked gimble for awhile... so the inner/outer bars creating a bind makes sense, and maybe explains the broken tiller arm.. the Latham tie bar is seriously bent, but that probably is the only reason the drive didn't go to Davy Jones locker... it's a big mess, i'll tell ya that... we have well over 100 detailed pic's, but due to the sensitive nature, i'm not going to post them, we just want to get to the bottom of it so it doesn't happen again, get the boat replaced, and move on... the USCG has been all over this deal, they actually quarantined the boat for their inspection for a short time, Formula has been notified, and seems very concerned, but the dealer/insurance/builder jerk his chain crap has started... we can't understand a cracked/broken gimble, broken cable, broken tiller arm, free spinning helm, all happening at one time.. the owner complained since delivery of a spooky handling scenario, even after the first cable was replaced, boat went back to dealer twice, dealer said it was normal, and he then bought on his own dime a complete IMCO setup a couple months back to be installed this month, it broke before that could be scheduled.. this owner is NOT a hot dog operator, speed is NOT a factor, quite the opposite, the accident took place between 2 idle zones in the Intracoastal waterway marked channels... he just wants honest answers from other owners, and a quick, safe, and fair resolution.

thanx