Lathem steering rams?
 

I'm purchased rams from another OSO member and they are apprx 1/2" shorter. My initial thought was it would just short the throw a little with turning. My question is will this oppose a problem? I'd rather not move brackets on transom. In pic the other end of cylinders are lined up. I called lathem and they weren't really much help other than to email pics with serial numbers of both and they'd get to it when they could.

Tks
John

the most important part with rams is that they end their travel at the same time, i.e., when one is fully extended the other is fully retracted. if one ends it's travel before the other, the one with room to go will continue to push or pull and will eventually break something. the easy fix is longer heim joints to make them the original length but you still need to adjust them to both end travel together.

Get them mounted and we can see if they will work this weekend!

Yes both left and right replacements are equal length. They are just 1/2 shorter than originals.
Tks

getrdunn: It appears by your pictures that you may have enough thread there to take a measurement of your original ram from bolt hole to bolt hole in the closed position and write it down somewhere and than remove the old rodend and install it on the new one and adjust the rodend using the jam nut to adjust the bolthole to bolthole length the same as the old one.

That's what my intent was as there would be at least 5/8" threaded into the rod end. My other thought was even if the new ones were 1/2" shorter what would be the big deal as long as there both the same. My brain only says perhaps a little less steering but could very well be wrong.

I see no problem in my eyes if there a touch shorter. You will just loose a tinny bit of max steering angle when at full star/port turn. Since your a twin engine you don't use the steering wheel to dock any ways (RIGHT!) so you will not be loosing loosing anything

That's pretty much what I had thought but wasn't sure. If it was the other way around and new ones were longer I'd be more concerned with gimbal stress etc but a little shorter I can't see issues other than max capacity steering. Right.

If one is completely retracted on the boat with the drive, let's just say. on the starboard side, and is a half inch shorter than the original, wouldn't that equal the port side being a full inch too short? The retracted ram is already a half too short, the extended ram is a half inch short, and now the drive is getting tucked in even further.

My question is how long are the rams extended? Is the total travel any different than the originals? If the rams don't top/bottom out at the same time you end up pulling the bracket off of the extended side, from what I've been told.