Steering pulling suddenly?
 

I have an older 26ft Sleekcraft Enforcer w/454 alpha1(trim tab ground down for prop clearance)w/stock Mercruiser type pwr steering. It started pulling drastically to the port side once I get above 30mph. One mechanic I talked to said the hinge pins were worn. Is this realistic? There is some play when I lift up and down on drive. It just seems weird since one day it was fine and the next day it started pulling. I am new to this forum, these type of boats and sterndrives so any help/advice is greatly appreciated. CxCx

Use the trim tab to help with steering. If steering wheel pulls to the left turn the trim tab to the left. Right pull turn tab to right. It sounds wrong but think about how the drive reacts when the tab is turned.

That tab was ground down to 1/2 inch when I got the boat to make room fo bigger prop. I thought the pwr steering compensated for that. I had no steering problems for the first year and a half. CxCx

Are you saying you can feel, at the steering wheel, the boat pulling to port side> steering wheel wanting to turn on it's own.
Or that the boat just wants to go to port side with no feeling at the wheel?

Oh you can feel it. If I take my hand off the wheel boat veers to the left. The faster I go the more drastic it is. I'ts fine at lower speeds. CxCx

Could be a worn gimbal ring. I had mine replaced last year. Mine was fine at slower speed but when I would throttle up and hit the trim the boat would pull to the right real hard. After the gimbal ring was replaced the problem was gone.

Something has come loose !!!! It is allowing the drive to "torque" to one side. VERY dangerous !!
Grab the drive & turn it side to side. Lots of slop ?

Where does the gimball ring wear occur? Like I said a mechanic suggested the hinge pins. Dont they have a bearing or bushing? This condition didnt seem to occur gradually/more like overnight. Dont worry this boat is not in the water. There is a little play up and down on drive but no play between drive and steering wheel.When I turn the drive side to side the wheel turns instantly. Nothing seems real loose. What about the steering control valve/piston assembly. Could something here contribute. Thanks for all the feedback. CxCx

My gimbal ring was worn at the top. I don't know if they wear anywhere else. The pin at the top is square and fits into a square socket in the gimbal ring. When the ring wears, the socket gets rounded off. You know the two bolts at the top of the gimbal housing that need to be tightened periodically? Tightening those bolts can take some of the slack out but eventially it gets too worn to tighten. Thats when you could loose control of the boat.

CxCx, I had this same problem on my last boat. One of the valves isn't sealing in the steering control valve, so it is trying to turn the boat and you are fighting it. You can get a rebuild kit, but I just replaced it and the problem was gone. I think it was about $100 or so, but that was 5 years ago.