There is one other thing I just thought of. When they rigged the boat they used a drill on the shaft of the pump to spin it and bleed the system so they did not have to crank the engine. I had never heard of this before but it seemed like a good idea at the time. You would think that if did not bleed that we would have got it the last time. I hope I still just have some air in the system and I will try again tonight. If that does not work I plan to buy another pump.

Thanks for the replies and I’ll keep you posted on the results.

That sounds dangerous running the boat with iffy steering. I think who ever redid your steering should be responsible for making it safe for you to drive. Good luck

Even a Merc pump may need to be drilled. Check with Bam ?
Or look on Imcos website...They have lots of info

I've read if you drill the orifice, it makes things a little quicker, but its not a necessity. We put a Mayfair kit on last year and didn't drill the orifice and it works beautifully.

Something somewhat off topic but will help keep you dry when you are fiddling with the rams is to get some 3" pvc pipe and elbows, and a short section of 4" exhaust hose. I made up some 'pipes' to run out a nearby window, so we could run the boats inside and duct the water/exhaust outside. The outside dim of a flange for a 3" elbow is about 4", the soft hose clamps right on to it and then clamp it on to your thru-hulls (unless you have mufflers). Works great, puts the fumes outside and keeps it quiet inside.

Thanks for the idea,I could even get some 90 elbows pvc/rubber and that would direct the water/exhaust away from the rams and me,

Yeah it works great, its so simple. I meant to take a pic of mine today but I forgot, I'll get a pic tomorrow. I'm going to make a 'trap' for when I winterize, to collect the anit-freeze that comes out the pipes.

Just spray a little wd-40 on the rubber hose before you slide it on your thru-hulls, they can get a little stubborn if you don't.

When i first put the boat together, new helm, lines and rams,I used a drill to run the pump by hand, one guy in the bilge, another at the wheel and one on the rams cracking lines. Just be careful running the pump with a drill when the helm is at the internal stops the pump wants to stop turning.

I just repaired one of my rams and had to take it off the boat and dissassemble, when i put it back on i had one of my kids turn the wheel lock to lock when the motor was NOT running while i cracked the lines on the rams, it moved plenty of fluid without the pump running.

Last year I made a card board tube,it worked for a little while

Okay I bled the system again last night and It seems much better. Hopefully I have it this time. I have put the mufflers back on the boat and it was much easier to stand off to the side and just get my right hand wet instead of my entire body.

Thanks again for all the input and suggestions.

That is exactly why I am asking questions and being proactive. Safety First Always

It is kind of hard to tow your boat 8 hours one way when hopefully it is something I can correct easily.

I think I have it now we just did not get all the air out the first time.

Thanks