Upgraded steering teleflex

[Lance B. Johnson]

2005 V-Ride....I am not happy with my steering. It is loose and sloppy, the steering wheel can be moved up/down and side/side. Makes my boat feel like an old chevy. The steering input is very light. I could almost drive my boat with my pinky finger.

I have completely disassembled the helm and tilt mechanism only to find that there are no signs of damage or wear (boat has 300 hours) I think it is just poorly made. I do a lot of work with cars and this helm and tilt mechanism just feel cheaply made to me. I have tightened the clip that controls end play on the pinion and this helped some.....again why they would use a clip instead of a nut just blows my mind.

My question is: Does anyone know if the new teleflex helms are better? Has there been an update or something?

[Ndawg12]

Can you get some pics up of what you're doing, I'm interested. Does your wheel vibrate on the initial take off under load? Mine will go "tat,tat,tat" rapidly until we get to about 6-8 mph. Just feels like something is sloppy in the helm...???

[Lance B. Johnson]

Can you get some pics up of what you're doing, I'm interested. Does your wheel vibrate on the initial take off under load? Mine will go "tat,tat,tat" rapidly until we get to about 6-8 mph. Just feels like something is sloppy in the helm...???

Yup mine does the same some times. Usually on the hole shot. I have yet to try adding weight to the tillar arm (like the new ones). I think I am going to take it apart again today to see if there is something else to try. Just called SkiDim (very helpful) they said the design is essentially unchanged. I'm telling you, compared to automotive parts, these things are cheap. They are constructed of cast aluminum only a step up from what we used to call "pot metal"

My boat has 300 hours and compared to BS001s 2009 the difference is night and day. Its bugging me that my Malibu drives like a Bayliner.

I will snap some pics.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Ruffdog

[Ndawg12]

Yup mine does the same some times. Usually on the hole shot. I have yet to try adding weight to the tillar arm (like the new ones). I think I am going to take it apart again today to see if there is something else to try. Just called SkiDim (very helpful) they said the design is essentially unchanged. I'm telling you, compared to automotive parts, these things are cheap. They are constructed of cast aluminum only a step up from what we used to call "pot metal"

My boat has 300 hours and compared to BS001s 2009 the difference is night and day. Its bugging me that my Malibu drives like a Bayliner.

I will snap some pics.

I always noticed it if I had to goose it a little to get it up on the trailer, and now since I've added 400lb sacs to the rear and usually a 500lb in the bow I always get it on the hole shot. Very interested in what you find out.

[Lance B. Johnson]

So I called skidim and according to them there have been no improvements to the helm. I disassembled the helm and found NO signs of wear. What I did find is that the bearing races were very sloppy due to poor manufacturing.

What I did was I tack welded the lower race. It was pinned into place and very loose. I also peened the steering shaft to tighten up the upper tapered collar as it was also very loose. Finally I installed a thicker washer between the snap ring and the tapered sleeve.

Also I determined that there was to much end play in the pinion gear and I threaded the pinion shaft to accept a nut in order to make the pinion end play adjustable. This slightly increased the amount of effort needed to turn the wheel giving a nice tight feeling.

In the end the steering is the way it should be....nice and tight.

[Lance B. Johnson]

[Lance B. Johnson]

[Lance B. Johnson]

[Lance B. Johnson]

[Lance B. Johnson]

[Ndawg12]

Very nice work, have you lake tested it? I'm interested if the vibration under a load (hole shot) is eliminated.

[Lance B. Johnson]

Very nice work, have you lake tested it? I'm interested if the vibration under a load (hole shot) is eliminated.

It might be awhile before I can get back to you on that...we are heading off on vacation. I might be able to get on the water before we go but my dang hip will have to agree first.