I'm sure this topic has been hacked to pieces but I can't seem to find the same scenario that I have and I'm really not sure which direction to go in...
I have an old "470" outdrive, the gimbal ring has no adjustment bolts and my steering is awful-really frustrating (boat is from '78). When diagnosing the situation, it seems that the steering shaft-which is splined-does not move in the gimbal ring; but the steering arm moves on the shaft. I guess my question is how should I go about this? I take the boat on short fishing trips once a week or so - typically no more than 5-10 minutes from the dock but every now and then I'll go a few miles away and I really don't need anything to fail on me especially since I like to open it up sometimes.
I don't have the plug kit to access the steering arm without removing the transom. Do I buy the plug kit & new arm? Or do I just use that money I would spend and get a used alpha transom with updated steering shaft? Not sure how prone these splined shafts are to failure...
I have an old "470" outdrive, the gimbal ring has no adjustment bolts and my steering is awful-really frustrating (boat is from '78). When diagnosing the situation, it seems that the steering shaft-which is splined-does not move in the gimbal ring; but the steering arm moves on the shaft. I guess my question is how should I go about this? I take the boat on short fishing trips once a week or so - typically no more than 5-10 minutes from the dock but every now and then I'll go a few miles away and I really don't need anything to fail on me especially since I like to open it up sometimes.
I don't have the plug kit to access the steering arm without removing the transom. Do I buy the plug kit & new arm? Or do I just use that money I would spend and get a used alpha transom with updated steering shaft? Not sure how prone these splined shafts are to failure...
