Back At The Cobalt

Great thread. Keep at it - looks great
 
Thanks Dan. How are things in the Delta?
Looks great Shawn! The Delta has been pretty windy most of the year so far. Just have to find protected anchorages (of course there are plenty).
 
You do a great job of showing your passion for boats... Nice work!
 
Finally, all of the big upholstered pieces are in. Tomorrow the boat goes into the water for a couple hour shakedown cruise then in to a slip for a few days while I re-bunk the trailer. I'll get more pics tomorrow.
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Well the launch went OK, the trailer needs some attention. Knew that was coming though.... The motor ran great. Good oil pressure and temp. Fuel gauge still not working and the depth gauge is doing weird stuff....all minor items I think. The biggest problem is the Merc power steering system has a problem. The boat wants to turn to port....hard if I let go of the wheel and she lists to port while on plane so the power steering is not compensating for prop torque I think. And while cruising at idle and I turn the wheel I feel a jerky feedback in the wheel and the whole boat. The pump reservoir was at the proper level. I need to do some research. I started a thread in the General Maintenance section.
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Here is a pic in the slip she'll be in for a few days while I work on the trailer.
 
Beautiful restoration of a very nice boat. The steering issue is big as I'm sure you know. A friend was seriously injured when his steering failed suddenly and catastrophically. People went into the water with broken bones. Looks like a perfect boat once that issue is addressed.
 
NorCal,

Very nice restoration. Assuming your drive is RH rotation unit, wouldn’t the boat naturally turn to starboard (without
power steering and a tab fin)? Also, drives of your vintage had a trim tab/fin anode aft of propeller located in the anti-ventilation plate. If yours still has one, it could be improperly adjusted by a large margin. MerCruiser eliminated the fins in later model drives with power steering as it wasn’t needed.
 
NorCal,

Very nice restoration. Assuming your drive is RH rotation unit, wouldn’t the boat naturally turn to starboard (without
power steering and a tab fin)? Also, drives of your vintage had a trim tab/fin anode aft of propeller located in the anti-ventilation plate. If yours still has one, it could be improperly adjusted by a large margin. MerCruiser eliminated the fins in later model drives with power steering as it wasn’t needed.
Thanks for the response. Not sure about the rotation. You may be right. This boat never had the trim tab as it had power steering.
 
On the power steering, I think I would suspect the cable as long as that boat has been sitting. PS pumps hardly ever fail, but it's possible. But before I changed that out I would.
1. Replace the PS fluid
2. Grease the steering cable (should be a fitting where the cable connects to the ram).
3. Grease the steering ram - not a lot I just put a think coat of 2-4-c on mine.
4. Work the steering hard over both directions several times - it's been sitting a long time.
5. Don't discount the rack on the steering wheel side - if you replace the cable I would replace the rack also.

At idle can you tell if the PS pump is working, is there assist with the steering or is it HARD and JERKY?
So I guess that is a LH rotation drive - hence the pull to port? Most singles are RH.
 
very nice work.....boat looks great!

cliff
 
Thanks for the response Bill....
The boat has been sitting on the trailer but the motor has been started occasionally. In December the cable was disconnected from the actuator to checking for excess play in the system the cable was and moved free and easy. At idle the steering is easier than when at rest so I'm assuming the PS is assist but when the wheel is turned to port quickly it is jerky.

I want to believe that the 2 issues, turning to port and the jerky steering are related. The actuator that is currently on the boat is a used unit that I put on during the rebuild. Could I have air in the system?

Thanks again Bill
Shawn
 
Thanks for the response Bill....
The boat has been sitting on the trailer but the motor has been started occasionally. In December the cable was disconnected from the actuator to checking for excess play in the system the cable was and moved free and easy. At idle the steering is easier than when at rest so I'm assuming the PS is assist but when the wheel is turned to port quickly it is jerky.

I want to believe that the 2 issues, turning to port and the jerky steering are related. The actuator that is currently on the boat is a used unit that I put on during the rebuild. Could I have air in the system?

Thanks again Bill
Shawn

Well there is a process for bleeding the system - read this http://www.boatfix.com/merc/servmanl/14/14a6.pdf it talks about bleeding the system and and the balancing valve - you might have something going on with both.
 
Well there is a process for bleeding the system - read this http://www.boatfix.com/merc/servmanl/14/14a6.pdf it talks about bleeding the system and and the balancing valve - you might have something going on with both.
Thanks Bill. The manual says the balancing valve needs adjustment if the drive creeps to one side or the other while running . It does not do that. And never has any of the times it has run on the trailer. I printed out the instructions on bleeding the system and I am going to try that on Wednesday. I'll let you know how I make out.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.
Shawn
 
Thanks Bill. The manual says the balancing valve needs adjustment if the drive creeps to one side or the other while running . It does not do that. And never has any of the times it has run on the trailer. I printed out the instructions on bleeding the system and I am going to try that on Wednesday. I'll let you know how I make out.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.
Shawn

Good luck - unfortunately I think we have about exhausted my knowledge of power steering systems! Bug I am very curious as to what the problem turns out to be.
 
Good luck - unfortunately I think we have about exhausted my knowledge of power steering systems! Bug I am very curious as to what the problem turns out to be.
Yeah me too. I am trying to reach a Mercruiser Tech that I knew in California. He was always a good source for me and he was the guy that did a lot of work on this boat when we first owned it. He knows the boat and hoping he may have an idea. Thanks again for the assist.
Shawn
 
If you have the old "Saginaw Style" power steering (which I think you would), there is a screw/nut on the power steering ram that you might need to adjust. if it is screwed in or out too far, it will make the steering push to one side or the other. I'd guarantee that's your problem. I had to replace the ram on my Formula rather than replace the seals, and the new one did this until I adjusted it.
 

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