1995 3200 Bravo II Gimbal Ring to Transom Loose

[Mongoose]

I took a closer look at my port drive and didn't get a good feeling about what I saw. I could use some advice on what part is worn or in need of adjustment. The linkage between the gimbal ring and the transom seems to be sitting much lower on the port...

vs the starboard...

I took a couple videos of how loose it is...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fxL...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CS5...ew?usp=sharing
I think this is what's causing my steering issues. It's kind of clunky and doesn't want to stay true when cruising. How bad of a fix is this? Thanks for the advice!
'Goose

[mmwjr]

Those two nuts are supposed to have their torque checked yearly. You have a worn swivel shaft, not an easy job. Look into JR Marines


https://www.jrmarine.com/instructions.htm

[Mongoose]

Damn. That's a lot of drilling and tearing things apart. I assume the next higher assembly is the gimbal ring itself? Is it arguably easier to just replace the whole thing? Looks like I could get my hands on one for a grand. Also, can it last another season? If I can put it off until the fall, I'll have a much better storage area to work on it that where it sits currently.

[mmwjr]

No the gimbal ring is a separate part from the swivel shaft and sometimes both need to be replaced. Another option is to replace the entire transom assembly but the engine needs to come out to do this. Most likely can last another season but if you keep the boat in the water for the season you need to be concerned about the seal going bad allowing water to leak in, boats have sunk due to this.