Loose steering

[Mackie 12]

Yep I have searched and read all other posts in regards to this question, however I am hoping someone can give me some further assistance. So I do have the 1.5" of play before the steering wheel/rudder actually engages. Now I have taken the panel off the back of the steering box and I can see the pulley is not moving while I move the wheel back and forth until of course I get passed the 1.5" of play. My question is does this tell me it is the steering box that is worn and needing replacment? I did disconnect the cable from the other end (knuckle, don't know what it is called) and there is a long brass looking sleeve that I could pull out. I did try the steering wheel again and it still had play after this was disconnected.

Any idea's or thoughts would be appreciated.

[oldjeep]

First check the tilt unit. See if your steering wheel moves up and down at all and then remove the wheel and check for loose bolt in the ujoint. In my father in law lxi that is where the whole problem was. If the tilt is good then likely the helm/cable.

[cherry ride]

I recently replaced my tilt mechanism because the steering shaft had side to side and up and down play. That made the wheel feel like new but I still had slop with the rudder when turning. I'm guessing the 1.5in of slop you are referring to is probably from the connection near the motor mount that holds the cable. Mine was like this pic with a ball and threaded shaft. The ball had worn very bad and you could move the cable about 1 inch or so back and forth. You don't need to replace the cable just the end piece holder/ball.

[kstateskierMO]

In addition to the cable and rear hinge mount you should check where the cable bolts to the rudders tiller arm. Mine was a touch lose back there when I went to replace the cable. When I installed the new cable I added two small brass washers to the tiller bolt/nut to remove all the side/side play where the cable bolted up to the tiller arm. Steering is crisp and tight now.

[dfarhood]

Based on his description it sounds the older rotary style set up like I have. The way he described it is shouldn't be the cable or anything near the rudder, definitely a problem within the steering box. I don't really know if like oldjeep said you could fix the tilt unit or otherwise, but it seems this discussion is starting to point in the wrong direction, I think mostly because most people have rack and pinion and don't know what pulley you are talking about.

[dfarhood]

On second thought, I have no idea how the rack and pinion is set up since I haven't taken it apart and maybe it has a pulley too. Either way the problem he is describing sounds like there is play in the box. Any other issues in the system are secondary.

[Mackie 12]

I checked the tilt mechanism and had some play up and down. Removed steering wheel and found two loose bolts on the side to which fixed that problem. However the primary problem is still there, I tightened the bolts on the yolk i am going to call it but no luck. I can se the wiggle if you will and it does not seem to be coming from this piece. Can it be in the actual steering box under the helm?

[formulaben]

On mine I inspected it and it seems the rack and pinion just eventually wear to the point there is some free play. Somewhere I got a price and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. A new cable and steering box is in my future, but planning to get by another year with what I have now.