09 Baja 26 outlaw with external single ram hydraulic steering… steering is horrible at no wake speeds. Checked the out drive after I got it home and I can move it a lot, meaning steer the out drive by pulling and pushing back and forth. New to this so not sure if it’s an air bound issue. Do these bleed themselves. Maybe bad ram but no fluid around the seal on the ram. Any help is appreciated. Thank you

Are your pivot pins/bushings worn out on your gimbal ring?

Single engine V bottoms with Bravo 1 drives rarely go straight at idle speed. It is caused by the prop spinning in one direction.
Is there any issue steering it at cruise speeds???

Is this full hydraulic or just the single ram ? this usually happens with the stock helm and cable to the Brazil valve.

The wandering is likely not caused by the drive moving back and forth. Just the nature of a single engine. I have found dropping one trim tab all the way puts a little bias on it and helps it go straight. Having a lot of play in the drive or steering cable is likely another issue that needs addressed but not the cause.

Yes. I know it will walk around some going slow but it seemed excessive so then I checked and realized there is excessive movement in the ram. I will check in the spring at this point as I dropped it off for winterizing and to get wrapped.
thank you for the input.

Just another note. The steering wheel does not move when I move the out drive by hand

You can study the parts diagrams to see the connection at the gimbal and the steering cable. You should be able to hold various parts still to determine where the slack is. I would consider any excess slack a safety issue since something is worn. Rack can wear or attachment points etc. You will figure it out, not rocket surgery, just parts that are easy to see and understand.

If your external hydraulic cylinder is able to be moved back and forth by hand...there is likely a pocket of air on the cylinder. You would feel resistance of the fluid flowing in/out of the cyl fittings if the air pockets were in the line somewhere. Not to mention...not a lot of volume in the lines.

Do they move a little then lock solid?

How much movement is there?

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