hey guys i have a 275 baja with a 496HO. Ive noticed that the drive has a lot of play in it swaying back and forth. ive been wanting to put hydraulic steering on the boat for some time now. i want to eliminate all the play from and looseness from the steering. my question is should going with an external only setup correct my problem? i think the full hydraulic is a little overkill and trying to avoid spending the money for the full. any input would be great thanks!

Please search on hydraulic steering, this discussion has been hashed out pretty thoroughly. Yes you need full hydraulic, putting an external cylinder won't change much if anything.

You probably should determine where the slop is coming from and repair. Might be cable or gimble ring assy. Hydraulic steering will mask a worn out assy but it is still a worn out assy. If you do an add on system it will be more stable under power but you will still have the slop in the wheel from the cable. Once you have a full hydraulic system you will never go back anything with a cable.

Thanks guys that's pretty much what I was thinking. Appreciate the input!

I just went full hydraulic. If you decide to repair what you have I saved all my parts and would sell cheap. The only part I don't have is the hydraulic rack. That was junk. In my opinion full hydraulic is a must going over 60 MPH or with twins.