Stiff and sloppy steering

[Wightdiver]

Let me try and explain the rather contradictory heading.

Over the last two seasons I have noticed the steering become much stiffer than it has been and develop a quarter turn of slack.

I have re greased the main shaft on which the engine turns (150hp Yamaha) there is only one grease nipple and whilst I managed to get grease out of the bottom of the shaft I cannot get it to come out of the top, is this normal? It is now easier than it was but still not as good as it has been, any suggestions?

I thought that the quarter turn slack was due to air in the hydraulics, but having bled the system several time have excluded that. I have now noticed that the black brackets as per the picture (what are these called?) flex as the wheel is turned before the engine actually moves, which causes the slack. They appear to be made of some form of plastic. So a number of questions, is this normal, do these things have a lifespan, are they available in a stronger material?

Any advice greatly received.

Andy

[Nasher]

Re the greasing.

I had this on an old Johnson.
A bit of a bodge really, but with the engine trimmed down I put a jack under the skeg and carefully lifted the engine/boat about an inch, which took the pressure off the top bearing.
Trying the grease again it came out the top.

I'm surprised the brackets are Plastic, but they could simply be bending because the pivot on the engine is too stiff and they are not man enough to handle the additional pressure required.
Sort the engine out and they'll probably not flex.

[Wightdiver]

Originally Posted by Nasher

Re the greasing.

I had this on an old Johnson.
A bit of a bodge really, but with the engine trimmed down I put a jack under the skeg and carefully lifted the engine/boat about an inch, which took the pressure off the top bearing.
Trying the grease again it came out the top.

I'm surprised the brackets are Plastic, but they could simply be bending because the pivot on the engine is too stiff and they are not man enough to handle the additional pressure required.
Sort the engine out and they'll probably not flex.

Thanks Nasher, I'll give that a go.

Andy

[Pikey Dave]

Like Nasher, I’d be surprised if the brackets were made of plastic, they’re usually some cast alloy. SOP for diagnosing steering issues is to disconnect everything & check each component for seizing & slop & work from there.

[Orwell boy]

Think that looks like an ultraflex or uflex actuator
my guess would be you are not clamped tightly across the outboard tube ,there is a black knurled cylindrical part which has a grub screw in it or maybe 2 ,this has too hold the actuator tight on the engine tube ,there may be a selection of washers and rubbers to help in this

[Wightdiver]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

Think that looks like an ultraflex or uflex actuator
my guess would be you are not clamped tightly across the outboard tube ,there is a black knurled cylindrical part which has a grub screw in it or maybe 2 ,this has too hold the actuator tight on the engine tube ,there may be a selection of washers and rubbers to help in this

That looks remarkably like mine which is actually a HyDrive unit. I will check the tightness of the unit but I can definitely see it flexing as I turn the wheel.

I'll have a scrape at the bracket with something sharp to see what its actually made of, as it looked like plastic and flexed I just assumed it was.

Thanks for the advice.

Andy

[Wightdiver]

Hi Guys

Just wanted to update those kind enough to have offered me advice on this issue.

Using Nashers "jack it up" method I managed to get another 20 pumps of grease into it, still nothing coming out of the top but its back to being as smooth as it was some time ago. Also noticed that the nut holding the brackets had worked slightly loose which was causing much of the sloppiness. Pretty much no flexing on the brackets now.

I will give it one more go on a hot day once the sun has softened the grease in both the leg and the gun.

I checked the brackets and surprisingly they are made of some form of plastic as per the picture below.

Finally I know that there has been much criticism of the forum recently due to a number of idiots ruining threads. For me this thread is a perfect example of how good this forum really is, someone on here always has a solution and is happy to share it. Ignore the idiots and use the forum for its wealth of knowledge and helpful members.

Thanks again.

Andy

[Nasher]

Glad you got it sorted.
As you say, it would be good to keep giving it a go with the grease.

That plastic looks like a form of Glass filled nylon, which is an engineering grade.
Something like Nylon 66.

[Wightdiver]

Originally Posted by Nasher

Glad you got it sorted.
As you say, it would be good to keep giving it a go with the grease.

That plastic looks like a form of Glass filled nylon, which is an engineering grade.
Something like Nylon 66.

Thanks Nasher