steering cable

232rinker454

i have a 1996 232 that i bought this last summer. after taking the boat out the first time the steering wheel was off 1/4 turn to the right when going strait. when i pulled the boat out of the water i shook the out drive and it has a fair amout of free play in it. the effort to steer the the boat is normal and not binding. so my question is: is my cable streched? or do i have a bigger problem? the boat is in storage for the winter and i am tring to get ideas of what im in for the spring. oh one last question for the 232 owners.  high speed deacceleration is it normal for the boat to dart right? or is this related to the possible streched cable? thanks for the help

gene

My 232 has about 1/2 turn play in the steering to keep it straight. I think it may be a bearing or the gimble bearing is beginning to have play. Keep us posted on the fix.

232rinker454

wow a half turn? like i said mine steering wheel is 90 degrease to the right when going strait. i have about 100 days till i get the boat back from winter storage so i will keep the fix posted. i have to put bellows boots in it to so i will check the piviots and bearings out at that time. thanks   

Cableguy Greg

If you can move the drive and the steering wheel doesn't move, then the gimbal ring is starting to go bad. Mine is doing the same thing. I am planning on having mine replaced in the spring when my boat comes out of storage. It isn't a cheap fix since the ring itself is about $800. IMHO, it is a poor design from Merc. It is an aluminum ring and a stainless steel square pin that moves the drive from left to right. Over time, the aluminum wears out creating the slop in the steering.

232rinker454

thanks for the input. i will have to look at that. i really wish i had someone move the drive and watch and see what was loose before it went to storage. How do you know if a steering cable is going bad then? get the boat back in april. keep ya informed

232rinker454

so i got the boat out of storage. i looked at the steering components and it looks like its the gimble ring is bad. lots of play there. big bucks to fix from what i can tell. i am not sure if its in the budget this year so i may try to stuff some shims in there to see if it will help. i got nothing but $800-900 bucks to loose on a new one. in my simple searches i have found a stainless steel replacement. any input from anyone that has used one? thanks for the help on what to look at.
 here is the link to the company's site: [link=http://www.hillmarine.net/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SSGR&Show=TechSpecs]http://www.hillmarine.net/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SSGR&Show=TechSpecs[/link]