banfield
06-13-2007, 03:14 PM
Hi Folks,
I'm getting by '83 22' Classic ready for summer use, and have been informed by my mechanic that there is excessive lateral play in the drive. Before the wheel moves at all, the drive can be moved right&left about 3" at its back (maybe 20 degrees?). The mechanic suggests that this is due to the steering arm being left loose on the gimbal ring, and that both parts are now worn, and won't clamp together any better. He says he's tightened the two bolts at the top face of the gimbal ring, but that they are as tight as they'll go.
Does this sound like the right culprit to you all?
Should I be checking anything else before we're sure this is it?
Will I need to replace the gimbal ring and steering arm to fix this?
Is there a way to remachine them to work together again safely & less expensively?
What else might I need to replace in the process?
How much do these parts cost?
Where would you recommend I get them from?
How dangerous of a condition is this?
I think that the boat has been having this 'loose' of a drive since I bought it 4 years ago. The symptom (aside from wiggling the drive) is that once I really get on a fast plane (>40 mph), the boat takes a sudden turn to one side (I've forgotten which). I counter this by reacting quickly and turning the wheel to straighten up. My mechanic drove the boat last fall, and was alarmed by this behavior, hence the discoveryof the loose drive. To me, that means it isn't getting worse quickly... but it seems like failure could be catastrophic.
Thanks for the input!
Don Banfield
Cayuga Lake, NY
I'm getting by '83 22' Classic ready for summer use, and have been informed by my mechanic that there is excessive lateral play in the drive. Before the wheel moves at all, the drive can be moved right&left about 3" at its back (maybe 20 degrees?). The mechanic suggests that this is due to the steering arm being left loose on the gimbal ring, and that both parts are now worn, and won't clamp together any better. He says he's tightened the two bolts at the top face of the gimbal ring, but that they are as tight as they'll go.
Does this sound like the right culprit to you all?
Should I be checking anything else before we're sure this is it?
Will I need to replace the gimbal ring and steering arm to fix this?
Is there a way to remachine them to work together again safely & less expensively?
What else might I need to replace in the process?
How much do these parts cost?
Where would you recommend I get them from?
How dangerous of a condition is this?
I think that the boat has been having this 'loose' of a drive since I bought it 4 years ago. The symptom (aside from wiggling the drive) is that once I really get on a fast plane (>40 mph), the boat takes a sudden turn to one side (I've forgotten which). I counter this by reacting quickly and turning the wheel to straighten up. My mechanic drove the boat last fall, and was alarmed by this behavior, hence the discoveryof the loose drive. To me, that means it isn't getting worse quickly... but it seems like failure could be catastrophic.
Thanks for the input!
Don Banfield
Cayuga Lake, NY