A little confused at the moment with my current issue. Boat is a 2002 252 Baja Islander with a 496HO and Bravo 1. Noticed that the outdrive had about 4'-5" of play from side to side but it was solid when you lifted it vertically. That led me to believe it was the gimbal ring, swivel shaft or steering arm. Gimbal ring came off pretty easy with not much corrosion.

Once I had it all apart I stuck the swivel shaft in the gimbal ring and there is almost no play without the u-bolt tightened down. You can barely wiggle it. That led me to believe the steering arm was the problem so I popped that off and test fitted it outside the boat. Again it was pretty snug with the bolt not tightened. Just can't see how that little play can translate into 4"-5" of outdrive movement.

Before it was all removed I did not check to see if the steering arm and outdrive were moving together which I should have done. Just assumed it would be the infamous gimbal ring. Got up in the boat last night and noticed that I could turn the wheel a good 5' before the cable would engage the steering ram at the back of the engine. Would this lead to play in the outdrive?

The boat is very good up to 55 mph but once you hit 58 mph and above the steering gets super sensitive and very unstable. It likes to jerk quickly to the side and this is a very different feel from chine walking. Only does it one direction. Also when coming off plane the boat dives very hard to the right so you have to come down slowly.

It could still be the gimbal ring/steering arm but based on what I've see its leading me to believe the steering cable, helm or the rams in the back are bad. Also there are no leaks in the system that I have found.

Any thoughts, suggestions, etc are greatly appreciated.

If you are sure its not gimbal ring worn to swivel shaft or the nut loosen from the swivel shaft or the steering arm - I would unhook the steering cable from the actuator and steer it at the helm - does the cable move as soon as you turn the steering or do you feel / see any play ? You can also move the outdrive side to side and the steering arm by hand to see if the paly is on that end to.

Possible bad actuator and or steering cable if all the back end checks out good.

If the steering wants to hard turn or mainly turn to one side then you have a bad actuator. IMO thats what it sounds like.