Merc Black max 150 Lower unit steering "colom" loose

[MercBlackMax1]

hey everyone first of all i dont know what you call the part of the motor but its where the pitman arm connects to the motor for steering if i pick up the foot i can move about 1/16 in all directions at the bottom and im kind of worried about long term do you think that its very bad for the area to have slack im sure it will tuff but if i can quick fix id be alot more at ease thanks .

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Merc Black max 150 Lower unit steering "colom" loose

When you say "Pitman Arm" you really mean steering cable or steering link, right?

The motor is mounted to the transom clamp with four rubber mounts. For them to give 1/16" is not unusual.

In addition the pivot rod is steel and mounted with a aluminum fitting that turns hte motor. This develops some play over time.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Merc Black max 150 Lower unit steering "colom" loose

The piece that connects the motor mounting bracket to the engine via the motor mounts is called the swivel pin. In the past the were made from high carbon steel. That has now been replaced with stainless steel. The HCS version had a tendancy to rust out at the very and and the retaining snap ring would fall off. It's almost impossible to lose the lower mount but that rust would creep into the lower yoke and eventually make it very loose. There are no bearings in the swivel pin hole, there are nylon bushings that just slip into place and theres a wavy washer to keep the vertical slop in check. If you have 1/6" of play in one direction, mulitply that by 2 and you'll get the total slop which is a lot more than spec.

The cost of the swivel pin will shock you so you might want to try eBay for a good used HCS version. You can order all the washers and bushings through crowley marine's online parts store if you don't have an account at Merc. Last time I checked they were still available.

If, when you tear it down and find that the motor mounts are shot, theres a really nice option to change to solid mounts. Look around at some of the popular merc racing outboard sites to locate those.

 

[MercBlackMax1]

Re: Merc Black max 150 Lower unit steering "colom" loose

Hey thank for the reply so i found out yesterday its the swivel tube/swivel pin. The looseness is in the lower part of the tube where the bushing and that floppy washer is i can see and move the washer around. Now where the motor mounts to the jack plate with the four bolts it perfect doesnt move at all i can move the motor and the whole boat moves on the trailor i just want to make sure the swivel will last the summer and get it fixed next year . i was thinking maybe cutting some shims and shoving the up there to make up for the looseness to try not to aggravate the damage. Was also wondering if i can lift the motor with one of thoses car motor extractors but i dunno if its high enough