New Steering Wheel

You guys are talking about six hex screws, but my wheel seems to only have a single nut holding the wheel onto the shaft... At least as far as I can tell when removing the center cap.


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Bryan which wheel are you referring to? My existing wheel has 6 hex nuts. I am hoping that the new wheel also has the same # of nuts in the same locations so as suggested prior, all I have to do is remove the existing nuts, pull the wheel off and replace with the new one and screw it back in. If that is in fact the case, this is a 2 minute job. Since you have the new wheel, does it in fact have 6 hex nuts, accessible via the removal of the center cap with the SeaRay insignia?

Peter
 
Bryan which wheel are you referring to? My existing wheel has 6 hex nuts. I am hoping that the new wheel also has the same # of nuts in the same locations so as suggested prior, all I have to do is remove the existing nuts, pull the wheel off and replace with the new one and screw it back in. If that is in fact the case, this is a 2 minute job. Since you have the new wheel, does it in fact have 6 hex nuts, accessible via the removal of the center cap with the SeaRay insignia?

Peter

There is a good chance Bryan has the Teleflex Sea Star or some other hydraulic steering system with helm pump. Boats with sterndrives have a different configuration and I imagine the steering wheel mounting is not the same. In addition, if you have Axius it is likely to be different than many other traditional sterndrives since the steering wheel is more of a sensor than anything else.
 
Agreed, and that does concern me. Luckily I can return the wheel. If I can't use it and someone else on this site cares, let me know. My cost plus shipping.
As said earlier it arrives Monday and I will go to the lake that afternoon.

Peter
 
Bryan which wheel are you referring to? My existing wheel has 6 hex nuts. I am hoping that the new wheel also has the same # of nuts in the same locations so as suggested prior, all I have to do is remove the existing nuts, pull the wheel off and replace with the new one and screw it back in. If that is in fact the case, this is a 2 minute job. Since you have the new wheel, does it in fact have 6 hex nuts, accessible via the removal of the center cap with the SeaRay insignia?

Peter

I'm referring to my old wheel, which has just a 2.5" center cap that pops off and I see a 1" nut holding the wheel onto the shaft. The new wheel has the six hex-screws underneath the center cap, but I don't know that those are actually needed for my application--looks like I take the 1" nut off the existing wheel/shaft, put on the new wheel, then put the 1" nut back on. My existing wheel is different than the one that Bucit shows earlier in this thread.

I do have the SeaStar hydraulic system, but I have inboards (v-drives), not stern drive I/Os. I'd imagine this is different than the Axius set-up. All I know is two Sea Ray techs told me that any wheel with a 3/4" tapered shaft will work on this application. I tried to install it yesterday, but the biggest socket I had was 7/8" and the nut is larger than this. I'll try again in about 10 days when I get back to the boat.
 
Ok....went to the boat with the new wheel today. Bottom line is the holes for each wheel don't match up and the screws for the existing wheel are larger in diameter then the new wheel. Only 2 choices to make it work: drill out the holes in the new wheel, which seems pretty easy or remove the center nut on the shaft and replace the entire steering assembly.
 
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Had my mechanic at the boat today and he showed me how to swap the wheels. It's a bit tricky but all you need is a large flat blade screwdriver, a metric socket wrench and a hammer. Didn't require any mods. New wheel looks great. I have listed my mint 08 wheel on the classifieds if anyone cares.
Peter
 
Glad to hear it worked out, Peter. Did you use the flathead screwdriver to prevent the shaft from turning while you unscrewed the nut?
 
No....it was handy to coax the assembly off the keyed shaft.
 
Speaking of steering wheels... How would one go about re-centering the wheel? I tried to search for a thread but could not find anything. I was thinking that I could loosen some screws, adjust, and re-tighten. From the above image, it looks like there is a notch that keeps the wheel on the steering shaft in one position. The steering on the 340DA is hydraulic not cable, but i am hoping there is a simpler way than dealing with the hydraulic fluid, etc.

I may be completely off base with respect to your question, but if you're talking about adjusting the wheel so it's centered with the rudders at zero it's easy to do if you have an autopilot. Just turn the wheel until your rudders are at zero, turn on autopilot, then turn the wheel until it is centered, then turn off autopilot. The thing is, every time you use autopilot the wheel will always go at least a bit off center so I do this process pretty frequently.
 
I think the question was in regard to getting the wheel and it's spokes perfectly set up and down when the boat steering is straight.
 
One of the quirks of hydraulic steering is there is a small amount of "fluid slip" within the hub which is the pump. Consequently, there is no assurance the wheel will retain it's position with respect to the rudders.
 
I think the question was in regard to getting the wheel and it's spokes perfectly set up and down when the boat steering is straight.

You are correct. I am curious if the hydraulic centering adjustment is something that is easy or something not worry about.

How often/quickly does this slippage occur? If it's something that I may need to adjust a once or twice a season then I would be more inclined to do it vs something every other week.

Thx.
 
If you have an Autopilot, when you engage it the steering wheel is bypassed. So most of the time the steering wheel is never lined up with going straight. You just get used to that quirk. If you are going straight with the autopilot on, and you straighten the wheel, when you disengage the autopilot your wheel with be close to straight. For a few minutes. This is why the autopilot display has a rudder position indicator.

Good Luck,

Pete
 
I think the question was in regard to getting the wheel and it's spokes perfectly set up and down when the boat steering is straight.

Yes, when the boat is steering straight the rudder indicator is at zero degrees. So we are talking about the same thing.
 
Had my mechanic at the boat today and he showed me how to swap the wheels. It's a bit tricky but all you need is a large flat blade screwdriver, a metric socket wrench and a hammer. Didn't require any mods. New wheel looks great. I have listed my mint 08 wheel on the classifieds if anyone cares.
Peter

Umh, you need to learn trade speak, us mechanics do not own hammers, we own precision adjustment instruments................the job dictates the size of the precision adjustment instrument


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Pete,

Post some pics of your new install... anxious to see how the new wheel looks. I'll be doing mine in a couple weekends.
 
What was the technique?

Had my mechanic at the boat today and he showed me how to swap the wheels. It's a bit tricky but all you need is a large flat blade screwdriver, a metric socket wrench and a hammer. Didn't require any mods. New wheel looks great. I have listed my mint 08 wheel on the classifieds if anyone cares.
Peter
 
after loosening the center screw, use the screwdriver to apply pressure to the back of the wheel assembly and then hit the shaft with the hammer to loosen the key. Takes quite a bit of shaking to get it to release the wheel. Don't be afraid to tug on it.
 

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