1. Steering Wheel Play

Steering play Alpha 1 outboard. So i fixed my starting issue thanks to those who replied, Now on to my steering issue. My outdrive didn't have a u-bolt but more of a closing jaw around the gimble pin with two bolts. After removing the bolts to clear the white build up i reinstalled them and checked the torque 50 ft lbs.

• Steering wheel being loose can be caused by a couple of things. First, make sure the nut holding it on is tight. Pop the center out of wheel and make sure the shaft is turning with the wheel and no free play there. If the wheel was loose, the keyway may be beaten out and giving you too much play.
• Steering Play. Have a friend hold the steering wheel tight while you stand behind the boat and swing the drive back and forth. It should move very little. If you have excessive movement, inspect the area at the top of the Gimbal Ring where the steering shaft passes through the gimbal ring and into the boat.

Last year I bought a 1989 Tracker Guide V16 with 35Merc and console. Serial number lookup. Everything about the boat was in top shape and the motor has been nothing short of perfect since the day I picked it up. The only thing about the boat I don't like is that the steering wheel is very loose and I cannot let go of the wheel even for a second without it spinning to the right. Now don't get me wrong, I would never let go while up on plane, but I do a lot of trolling for walleyes and wipers and would like to get the boat to track in a straight line for a few seconds while I make an adjustment to a rod holder or reel in a white bass etc. At 3mph or less.

If I let go now the boat will eventually make circles. Is there an easy way to tighten the steering?ThanksMatt. There is a skeg on the motor to offset the torque steer you are experiencing.

Rather than me trying to explain how to adjust it I recommend you stop by the dealership where you bought the boat and ask them. The adjustment is much easier shown than explained.

You could stop by any boat dealer or repair shop, it only takes a second to show how to adjust or explain. For that matter it only takes a minute to adjust. The skeg is on the anti cavitation plate just above the prop. You offset the skeg to compensate for torque steer. This is a simple one bolt adjustment.Al. Steering wheel being loose can be caused by a couple of things.

First, make sure the nut holding it on is tight. Pop the center out of wheel and make sure the shaft is turning with the wheel and no free play there. If the wheel was loose, the keyway may be beaten out and giving you too much play.If the wheel is tight and the shaft turns with the wheel, look at the motor and make sure the cable end moves when you rock the wheel back and forth. If it does, find your free play back there and fix it. If the shaft in the helm turns with the wheel but the cable does not move with the rocking of the wheel, your helm is probably worn out.As for the constant hard torque on the wheel. First, you probably don't have the motor trimed up enough.

Too much hull drag will creat tons of steering torque. You can try adjusting the trim tab on the bottom of the anti-cav plate.

Looking down at it from the back of the motor, turn it counter clockwise. The very rear part of the tab should be more to the starboad side.

Reducing Play In Mechanical Cable Steering - Moderated Discussion Areas          Reducing Play In Mechanical Cable Steering AuthorTopic:   Reducing Play In Mechanical Cable Steeringacmitchell2posted 05:40 PM ET (US)        I have a 1999 Boston Whaler Dauntless 14. The steering wheel has approximately 30 to 40-degree of play before the motor moves. It seems like 90-percent of the play in the steering system is in the cable gear assembly. Is there any adjustment for this?jimhposted 05:52 PM ET (US)           Your description was unclear to me. Do you think the source of the play in the mechanical cable steering system is in:-the cables themselves, or-in the helm assembly?seabob4posted 06:38 PM ET (US)           There is no adjustment in the cable. But the cable is attached to the boats equipment in a few places. The tiller arm on the motor, the tilt tube on the motor, and the helm behind your dash.

My guess is it's the gearing in your helm.SC Joeposted 08:15 PM ET (US)           Old jeep cj's has a screw on the steering box that when slightly tightened would act as friction to the steering gears, effectively 'tightening' the steering, and sometimes, appearing to take some of the 'slop' (or ecesive play) out of the steering.Do the Teleflex helms have this same feature? Perhaps this could help?SC Joeposted 08:20 PM ET (US)           Jimh-Please to be including an edit button so I can fix my typos!seabob4posted 09:39 PM ET (US)           Emoticons too!!A2J15Sportposted 10:10 PM ET (US)           Some of the systems have a nut (spring loaded) on the back side of the steering wheel shaft. Tightening that nut will stiffen the steering some but it does not reduce 'play'.The play occurs due to wear. We spend better than 90% of our running time at basically one position, on the steering. That creates wear in one spot (just a few teeth).Just make sure all of your linkages are tight: Cable to tilt tube and link arm. Some older units have a cable nut on the back of the helm. Make sure that is tight.SC Joeposted 10:39 PM ET (US)           A2j.that's what I said.

The screw I am referring doesn't change the wear in the gears or the steering system. My point was tightening that friction screw might mask the wear a bit.A2J15Sportposted 12:27 AM ET (US)           SC Joe,Sorry! I just thought I'd be more specific.The sector shaft preload screw (Jeep-recirculating ball steering gear) is NOT on a Teleflex (rack or rotary) steering head. As I mentioned, there is a nut on the back side of the steering wheel shaft that sets (increase/decrease) the preload.macfamposted 07:33 AM ET (US)           If you can't get rid ot the play in the steering: REPLACE IT!It's too danderous to be neglected.Its rare, but folks have flipped 13 and 15 Whalers. When the boats are recoved, often the STEERING IS BROKEN, which many assume was caused by the overturning.In reality, the worn steering and slipping teeth allowed the motor to 'instantly' turn under load, and the violent, abrupt turning flips the boat.I know of three such cases over the years with 13's.Its similar to 'my grandmother fell and broke her hip'.NO, your grandmother's hip gave way and broke, and therefore she fell.I have replaced the steering in my 1987 13 Super Sport, and its not too difficult. Many don't like the 'feel' of the Teleflex NFB (no feed back) steering.

I like it, and my wife and daughters have noticed how easy it steers, and they really like it. Along with a 'Steersman Nut' to prevent corrosion and hardened grease in the tilt/steering shaft, the steering is a dream to use. One finger ease.fishgutzposted 08:57 AM ET (US)           I have yet to see a boat without a little play in the steering wheel. I'd say the play you're experiencing is close to normal. 30 to 40 degrees of wheel turn amounts to about 3 to 4 inches of wheel play. That amounts to about 2 millimeters of motor play.

At least that is my estimation from looking at my boat.Just check all linkage to make sure its all tight. If everything is tight, the play may just be from the cable moving in its sheath. I searched this topic on several other sites.

Steering Wheel Play

Teleflex will have a little play. As long as the motor itself doesn't move much to affect handling, don't worry about it.Swapping out your steering system in your boat is a big job. You'd probably have to take out the floor. I've removed the floor on my Dauntless 14. A big job and somewhat time consuming but still pretty easy. The hardest part was putting a nice bead of caulk in the floor seam.

NOW I know an easy way to do it.Refer to this article from Teleflex. There should be a little play in the steering. They mention it a couple times so it must be normal.  Hop to.