torque steer prob. on '99 150 xr6

[jbjennings]

Guys,
My best friend just bought a '99 progator bass boat with a '99 merc xr6 150hp. It has bad torque steer to the right. I am thinking that it should run straight as an arrow when up on plane with just a little torque steer at slower speeds. I also looked at the lower unit to see if the trim tab was broken or needed adjustment but it didn't seem to have one. Any ideas? I think this torque steer is dangerous.
Any ideas....I did search the threads but could not find much on a motor this big. Does it have a trim tab?
THanks,
JBJennings

 

[gss036]

Re: torque steer prob. on '99 150 xr6

Yes, it has trim tab. Stand behind the boat and look at the prop, there is a zinc anode bolted to the part abovt the prop. If it has a tip pointing down, that is the trim tab. It is held in place by a bolt from on top of it, there is a plastic cap, which is removable, then use an extention and socket (best use a craftsman which locks the socket in place otherwise you might not it back out) if the tab is pointed in one direction, move it in the opposite direction a little at a time until you correct the steering.
I tried to make it as simple as possible, so hope you follow me.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: torque steer prob. on '99 150 xr6

Thanks,
I just looked up the motor on Crowley marine's website and it showed a trimtab for 15.00 just like you said. The strange thing is, there was a zinc-looking disk where the trim tab should have been but the tab wasn't on it and it didn't appear to have broken off (no grizzled shear place where it would have broken), it was perfectly smooth but you could see a threaded bolt hole in the middle of it. I was thinking it had to have one, especially with the torque a 150 should make.
Thanks again,
JBJ

 

[Chris1956]

Re: torque steer prob. on '99 150 xr6

JBJ, There are three different Zincs for that motor. One has a whole fin, one a 1/2 fin and the other no fin. If you have a raked prop, you will need to use the 1/2 fin or no fin model. A standard prop can use the full fin.

You may adjust the fin to reduce the torque steer at a particular range of RPMs and trim settings, provided the fin is still in the water at that speed.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: torque steer prob. on '99 150 xr6

Thanks, Chris.
I guess I'll wait till I bring it home for him and see if I can figure out what I need. I may have to post a pic to see what you think. It also seemed to idle a little high for my taste, about 1000 to 1100 rpm's. Dirty carb?
JBJ

 

[Chris1956]

Re: torque steer prob. on '99 150 xr6

If you run it on the flush device, the motor will idle a bit higher than when it is in the water, due to back pressure, Dunk it in and see what it idles at.