Adjusting steering
 

hello
I am new to the site and boating, I just picked up a 94 29 Scarab with twin 350 mags with alpha's.
Not having a great time so far, 1st time out the starbord motor locked up and the next morning went out to find the port drive to be leaking oil out of pre exsisting cracks that had been covered with bondo. I put a new motor in and fixed the drive and it is going now so I guess it could be worse.
My question is there is quite a bit of play in the steering, It seems to be in the wheel. I guess there is a valve body that the wheel goes into. Is there a way to tighten that up ? ..Thanks in advance

Could be a lot of things, I am assuming it is the stock cable steering, 1'st thing I would check for is play in the drives. Where in the Pocono's are ya, I have a lot up in Hawley i'll probably never use.

I am located in Marshalls creek.. How big is the lot ?
My boat has hydro steering..

About 3/4 acre, in a private sudevelopment a few miles from the North Ramp at Wallenpaupack, bought it a few years ago as kinda an investment(more so that I wouldnt waste the money on more boat schitt), you know how that went:eek:

Where is marshalls Creek?

Were you at the Nascar race Sunday? That is what first turned me on to the area, we used to go twice a year when I lived in CT.

OK,

With hydraulic you may have some air in the system, could come from many places, maybe try to bleed it, and see what happens from there. I am not all that familiar with I/O hydraulic steering, but on the outboard ones(non power assist) if air gets in, it will cause play. As far as blleding an I/O system i cant help you, i thought they were self bleeding, but I suppose air can get caught up in them.

Are you sure it is a full HYD. system or are you thinking it's hyd. because there is a powersteering pump on one of your engines? If it is a full hyd. system there should be NO PLAY in the system, that is the main reason for installing a full system in the first place. More than likely you have a cable helm and a hyd assisted cylnder in the rear. Do you have external steering rams? Play can develope at any clevis joint, cable end, cable stretch, etc.

With the engines off and drives down, push/pull lift up/down on the drives and see if you have any play in the gimble bell and/or helmet. Your looking for movement at the pivot points. At the same time have someone on the inside looking at the steering ram and tie bar connecting to the second drive. Look for play at the connection points. Next with the engines running, slightly turn the wheel from side to side looking for play at all the same places. Even very slight movement/slop is a problem at speed. The hyd. portion of the system should be self bleeding since it uses a reservoir . Air should purge itself out after it runs thru the system. Fliud should be clean and not burnt smelling. Pump could be failing but should give some signs like leaking or noise which would make presures low and soft. My guess is a combination of several things. It doesn't seem like the previous owner was on top of maintenence so I would guess you have some gimble issues and some slop in the cables from the helm if not full hyd.
Just my 2 ct's worth.

r71.. No I was not at the race, I don't watch it but I did go once for the party and had a great time.
Fire boat... Maybe I am wrong that it is full hyd. I didn't know they mixed cable and hyd. It has a pump on both motors. It does have a little play at the gimble but no where near enough to match what is at the wheel. I will look more into it and see what I come up with .. thanks both of you..

Keep us posted on what you find. Look for leaks, soft hyd lines and play/slop. Most boats with twins have P/S on only one eng. Some have it on both and it makes the system a little more complicated but works the same. The second is intended as a back up if one fails and there are some check valves conecting the 2 hyd systems to keep them seperated. Look under your dash behind the wheel. If there are hyd lines then the helm is hyd and you have a full system. If not then cable /hyd. Either is fine up to about 70 mph after which an external system is recommended. You'll come close but I don't think over that mark with the small blocks and alphas. Where do you boat up there with a 29'?

The port motor had a pump on it with no belt, I asked the previous owner why and was told it only needed 1, after the starborb motor locked up and I drove it home with no power steering I figured i would put a belt on it at that time i found why it had no belt, the pump was rotted through so I put a new one on... I will look behind the dash to see what I have. It seems to be right at the wheel just because it feels very loose with no drag, like a car with a box with alot of play.
I have only had the boat out 5 times, lk. hopactong in nj. lk. wallenpaupak near me in pa. and the Jersey shore last weekend and if things go well this weekend also.

We usually run the Delaware river here in Philly or trailer down to Northeast MD and go out in the Chesapeke Bay. If you ever think of heading down that way I promise you won't be sorry. Let me know if yor thinking and maybe we can meet up?

I have heard the bay is the place to go. I was supposed to down for the poker run on my friends 42 fountain but we could not get enough guys. I was planning to go with my boat this weekend but cancelled for the same reason.. Maybe I will get a chance before the season ends..

Is there a speed limit on Wallenpaupack? one of these days I wanna tow the Pantera back North, but the lake I grew up on (Candlewood) has a 45 MPH speed limit.

I am not sure of the speed limit, I have only been there during the week and it might be lifted weekdays
Ok I checked out the steering and it has a cable then goes to the ram in the back. There is very little play in the steering box itself most of the play is in the cable. is there a way to adjust the cable ? I see no way to adjust it on the steering box side.

The cables stretch. Theres some adjustment at the ram/actuator where the cable attaches. Looks like a threaded tube where the cable goes into. A little slop can give you alot of play. The cables need to be secured somewhat from the helm to the transom and not too loose and hanging. Also chech all the other places for slop as stated earlier. From what you've said so far it sounds like this guy used the crap out of the boat and never did much maintenence. Also sounds like a salt water boat from all the rot like the P/S pump? Hope you got a good deal. Check out those gimbles for play. I can assure you, you don't want one to fail while running. Makes for a really bad experience.

I have very little play at the drives, I put 1 new gimble bearing in while the motor was out and even that one was in good shape.. The first owner had it on a freshwater lk, the guy I got it from used it on the bay, he says very little but he is getting harder and harder to beleive ..
What do I need to do to adjust it? it just looks like the cable goes into the a cyl hooked to the hyd. ram .. Thanks

Buy a book for the year and model of your engines and drives. That should walk you thru the normal maintenence. The cables need to be replaced when they get stretched too far. A little play here and there adds up to alot of play. Not good when there should be NO PLAY! It's the pivot pins and points in the gimbles that wear out.

I have a clymer book but is says nothing about adjusting the steering. I have no play in the piviot points.. I had a friend look where the cable hooks to the ram, and I turned the wheel just back and forth with the play and the ram does not move.
So the cable is not adjustable and it needs to be replaced?