stearing very hard to turn.

martinwielgus

Hello everyone,
Just got back to boat. I tried filling  both  power steering pumps as  suggested.
no change.
Told mechanic to put new pump in.  He put new pump and belts in.
Started engine and no difference, still difficult to turn,
pump makes no noise when you turn completely starboard or port.
Mechanic said I told you so.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Marty

212rowboat

Pump or no pump, they need input commands, and that happens via cables between the wheel and the engine compartment.  

Check for a kink in the engine compartment.. grease the stanchions.  Pull the panel or get to the wheel hub, and turn all the way one way, grease the extended cable, the all the way the other way, and grease the other cable... Do same thing to engine room cables.  Then, sit there and turn full lock back and forth, and see if it doesn't get easier. 

212rowboat

Oh.. and God have mercy on your soul if the outdrive (exterior) pivot pin is broken on one of the drives.  Of all the things fun to do to a boat, that one ranks dead last. The yoke that's bolted to your hull has a steering pin the attaches at 12 and 6 o'clock, allowing the outdrive to swing.  I don't think they're serviceable, as they use a sealed bearing.  If the bearing is a goner, it's metal on metal in a less than hospitable environment, and the pin on top will freeze, which could be the explanation of "getting worse"... Crossing my fingers for you that this isn't it. 

georgec14

only the stdb engine runs  the steering. the port pump does nothing. check the stbd pump again. good luck .

martinwielgus

a new pump was just installed starboard engine. no change, still hard to turn.

Ezgoin

I have hard steering on my Captieva 262 with Bravo 3.  It's stiff, not smooth, and if turned all the way to one lock or the other sometimes feels like its stuck and doesn't want to turn back.  My mechanic consulted Mercruiser and was told its a bad regulator.

Robs_232

I had to replace the steering cables on my 2004 Captiva 232 because of very hard steering. It felt like there was no power steering. If you have cable controlled power steering like 212 mentioned above, I would try removing pins from the cables at the steering lever on drive and try turning steering wheel. The cable liners get destroyed by a failing pump, steering cylinder, etc. as there is no way to lube them correctly. They also just wear out.

After you get a steering pump or cylinder fixed it still could be bad cables from the increased effort needed to steer which will wreck the cable liner. I would start with cables to see if they are free before looking at pump or cylinder. Wish I would have done that as I could have replaced the cables myself.