Baja Steering SEIZED UP !!!!!!
 

I posted some time back abou this issue but was so disgusted with the fact the steering was messed up that I just parked the dang thing.....that was until today.
I decided to take the advice of some on here and this is what Ive done so fare...
I replaced the power steering pump...why? because...well...I have no flippin idea lol...I thought it was messed up since I ran it without fluid on accident....this didnt fix it but hey I have a new pump now lol.
I disconnected the steering cable from the ram & the steering wheel and cable move as smooth as butter. The cable moves in and out of the ram without any issues.
I disconnected the power steering quick disconnect lines from the ram.
I disconnected the the ram shafts that connect to steering the outdrive. I also disconnected the two hyd cylinders on the outdrive. The outdrive moves freely without issue.
I then too kthe advice and used a block of wood and a 5 pound hammer. I was able to get the main ram shaft to push in by some muscle (only about a 1/16" every blow of the hammer). Now the shaft is about 3/4 in the ram but still wont move freely.
I was going to remove the two big bolts that hold the ram in place but no so easy to get to the bottom one and they use the "safety plates" that they bend the tabs over to stop the bolts from backing out....well they bent the tab on the back side so its near impossible to get to!!!! URGHHHHHHH!!!!!
Any suggestions? I soaked the shaft with PB Blaster....the main shaft I can rotate with channel locks & some force....the smaller shaft rotates free without much effort at all.
My local marine machanic wants to drag me over the coals $$$ to look at it.....

fixx
 

do you have add on hyd steering ?? are the rams on the drive polished like chrome or black?

When you say drive....you mean the actual Alpha One drive? I dont have any aftermarket power steering. The two rams on the Alpha One are perfectly polished.
It has power steering assist = saginaw style GM power steering pump....told that its considered "power assisted steering".
The rods are shiney...polished looking...the smaller rod is shinier than the larger one but its still very clean looking, not gray or black at all.
The last time I actually went out on the boat it steered perfectly. I tried to take it out a couple months later and it was seized up. There was no power steering fluid in the power steering reservior (due to leaking hose clamp on pump). I filled the reservior up and it still didnt work. Thinking i damaged the pump, I replaced the steering pump yesterday and still nothing......thats when i decided to systematically try and diagnose it one step at a time. Now I've narrowed it down to the shaft not moving freely in the ram. This is on a BAJA HAMMER with 350ci.
If I can get in to bend the safety tabs that stop the mounting bolts from backing out, I guess I will just have to pull the whole unit and take it to someone who can diagnose it..... I soaked the shaft with PB Blaster yesterday...maybe this evening when I have time, I can see if this helped it at all.
Any other ideas or suggestions would be greatly appriciated!
Marinas, machanics and specialty shops always take you for a ride when they know your backed in a corner lol.....I typically fix any and all issues and hope this will just be another feather in my cap when its all said and done

http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/...ps27381cd9.jpg

This is a quick sketch of the steering on my Baja.

*The steering cable nut has been removed. Steering wheel and cable move free.

*The two power steering lines have been disconnected.

*The Alpha drive swings left / right freely after disconnecting the rams on each side of outdrive.

*The shaft circled in pic was forced inward with a wood block and hammer. About 1/4 of the shaft is still exposed. It took brute force to move shaft inward.This shaft does NOT rotate freely...must use channel locks on end of shaft to rotate.

The smaller shaft rotates freely with little effort. It "appears" that this smaller shaft moves in / out freely. Smaller shaft is hi polished...the bigger shaft I circled in pic is polished and shiney but grease seems dryer than the grease on smaller shaft.

actualtor is frozen, just replace it...not a big deal as long as lines come off of...

Actuator....I will google this..
So the entire assembly Im refering to in the sketch picture is tech called the actuator? all this time Im refering to it as the "ram"....
Will call and look around the Tampa Bay area....hopefully someones got one for a great price...maybe someone who has converted to full hydrolic system.
Will need one that will fit a 2001 Baja Hammer.

Those safety washers on the mount bols can be a pain, if you got 1 ear opened up the other one will open pretty easy if you can get a wrench on the bolt. once you crack the bolt loose it will flatten the other ear as it turns. They may be locktited so they need to be popped loose to break the seal then should come out pretty easy. Hope that helps, Randy

Randy, much tanks for the information!

Just spoke with a marine mechanic at marina via phone and this was his suggestions:

I explained what’s been taking place with the steering.
He said 95% of time the actuator is fine.
He said typically the cable gets stuck in actuator.
He said the first put pliers / vice grips on end of shaft and get it to rotate. Disconnect the nut that holds the steering cable to the actuator. Put steel pin back in hole at end of shaft and use wood block and hammer to force shaft in actuator. Continue to do this until you’re near the pin. Remove the pin and replace pin with something same size diameter as pin hole, no thicker than shaft. Tape this piece inside hole (wrap tape around shaft over hole to hold piece in..tape will peel off as shaft moves inside). Continue to hammer shaft all the way through actuator. Remove cable & shaft....clean, lube shaft and cable liberally. Reassemble unit.
He said this he believes will fix the problem and has seen this many many more times than not.

He said the key here is to make sure you dont distort the hole...this is why he said to use the pin and something in the hole when the shaft actually goes inside the actuator.

This boat has had its grimlins since I got her a couple yrs ago...but Ive been tackling them and learning much as I go! This is just another one of those learning experiences....hope this fixes it otherwise he said the actuator is a small fortune to replace.

It sounds to me like this mechanic is talking about removing the steering cable from the actuator, If that is the case that wont do you any good at saving anything if I read your post correctly the main steering cable moves freely inside the actuator. Your drawing isnt familier to me as the actuators I have delt with have a (brazil valve). I know there are two types that I have heard of & you must have the other one. Being that your registered you cant post pics unless you go through Photobucket or something like that or you can email me a pic & I can post it for you. Randy

I will have a good used actuator after this weekend if you want it. 75 plus ship obo. I am upgrading to full hydraulic. This is the current model, with the quick connects.

LC

Randy, Ill try and snap a picture of it later this evening...unless I can google up a similar unit online and post via photobucket. Yes he is talking about completely removing the shaft from the actuator, cleaning it up, lube and reassembling it.
As for the used unit offered....If I cant seem to fix this on I will probably be back in contact with ya.

Just looked up some actuators from Bam Marine Newer style for alpha gen 1 $260.00 older style with brazil valve that I recognize over $400.00 sounds like Loose connection has a score for you if its the correct one

http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1ae54307.jpg

Randy, this is what I have. I doctored it up a bit so you would see what Ive been describing. From what I can gather (per the machanic), force the shaft all the way inside and out of the actuator. Clean shaft, lube and reinstall. The pin hole is where you have to add some cut off bolt / solid metal dow so that when your hammering, it wont distort hole and so that u can continue to tap on shaft end even as it goes through actuator seal.

One question i forgot to ask the machanic is "Why would this happen? lack of maintnance , lack of lube? How can the cable / steering work perfect one day and i take it out a couple months later & it totally locks up...sitting on the trailer?"

What year is your BAJA? If it is 2001 plus mine sould work.

You can ebay these things new for 175.00 the merc price is crazy. I had to replace one a few years ago on my cobalt. If it is not 2001 plus you have to purchase the new steering hoses from merc, the fittings are special and unless you know exactly what you are doing converting it is a money waster, belive me I tried. I will also have the high pressure hose from pump to actuator if you want it. 25.00 plus the ride.

low pressure hose i am reusing.

LC
LC

Mine is a 2001 Baja Hammer....with the quick disconnect power steering fittings like picture above.

jblspd, I would guess if it was operated with low fluid level the pump can aeriate the fluid & it is galled up inside. I have pounded steering cables through the tilt tube of an outboard to remove them & got lucky that the tube wasnt destroyed but that is just a simple aluminum tube with threads on the outside. Looking at the pic, the ring with holes looks like a nut you could remove with a spanner wrench & the shaft & internals would slide out but keep in mind that is a high pressure system & if not assembled correctly can leak or worse blow apart. I would bet there isnt much if any pressure in the system now but when operating there can by hundreds if not a couple of thousand psi. If it were mine I would replace the actuator & flush the lines & cooler. Randy

Randy I hear you...
As I study different images online and Im getting a better grasp on how this unit works, I see that the chromed looking shaft with the hole in the end is in fact the end of the steering cable (duh!) lol
I think I will try to push the cable through and out of the actuator. Maybe take a little ultra fine emerycloth and polish up the shaft, clean it, grease it up real good and reassemble.
I have the same feeling that running the pump dry, along with no maintnance on steering ( I'm sure the orig owner didnt do anything and I havent since I owned it) this could be the reason for failure.
I guess what the machanic was saying is push the shaft ie. steering cable in and out of the actuator. For some reason I was thinking the steering cable attached to the chrome tube...but.. the tube is the end of the cable.
If it acts jukey in the slightest, Ill just replace the unit.
SIDE NOTE.... I had an outboard one time that someone had put channel locks on the chrome steering cylinder (idiots!) Im sure you can picture what it did to the polished surface!! Well of course when you went full turn, the gouges it made tore the end cylinder seals up and it leaked like crazy. I pulled the chrome tube, sanded down the ridges, cleaned, filled with JB Weld, sanded and polished it....along with new seals and DAHDAHHH never leaked again! JB Weld rules lol

Ok UPDATE.....
( i hate when people never give updates and leave ya hanging wondering what ever happened lol )

So I was able to fix the steering issue! I took the advise of a local marine machanic. He told me to "hammer" the steering rod back thru and out of the actuator. Clean the steering rod, the actuator tube and lube everything up real good. Feed the steering rod back in and grease as you go. Reassemble and this should fix it.....well, after 20 minutes of hammering a block of wood against the steering rod, I finally got it out. Did just like he said and WAAALLAAHHHHH!!!! steers smooth! Basically the little bit of greaee left in steering had broke down and turned into a clay / glue and wouldnt let rod slide thru actuator.
So if you every get into this same situation, give this a try before buying a new actuator. Total cost was $7.00 for new grease vs. $200-400 actuator depending on your supplier.

NOTE: if u hammer the steering rod, MAKE SURE you use a block of wood & put something in the steering rod "pin hole" at end of shaft, otherwise you will distort the hole and never get the rod through the actuator without damaging it. I used just shy 1/2" steel rod (cut it off a paint mixer) and taped it into the hole...tape will peel back as you hammer this section into the actuator.

Glad ya go it fixed, I was under the impression it was hydraulic in nature. DUHHH I see exactly what was going on & feel stupid. ....... I feel better now have fun. Randy

Can you draw me a picture of the power steering pump.. or no maybe the engine!!OR the boat!!! I love your drawing skills!!

:drink::drink:

Randy, thanks for the suggestions anyway!
And for ICDEDPPL, what you asked for LMAO!
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/...ps90baee14.jpg