Hello. I have a 2001 Maxum SCR 2900 with the bravo 3 outdrive. I just got the boat last fall and notice a lot of wandering at slow speeds. The previous owner had cranked the steering wheel lock way down but when loosened now it has a lot of play. maybe 2 inches in each direction
The boat is out of the water on blocks now. I can move the outdrive maybe an inch or so, but it doesnt seem excessive.
The wheel, however, seems to move quite a bit before the outdrive moves at all. I poked under the dash and all i see is a steering "box" for lack of a better term. No adjustments i can see.
question: is an inch or so "excessive" play in the outdrive?
I have read horror stories about changing the gimbal steering pin and am really hoping that isn't the problem.
also, the previous owner just had the bellows and coupler done. would the gimbal pin be something they would look at then?
what else could i be looking at other than the "wandering bow" i have also read about.
they are gonna drop my boat in the water in a few weeks so time is a factor here.
The most common of source of play is from a worn swivel shaft and possibly gimbal ring. Most over look the maintenance of checking the U bolt torque annually which can result in this wear to accelerate. I would have this looked at first.
What Mike said above is accurate. An inch of play on each side of the outdrive is a bit excessive. An inch total is normal. Did you you check the U-bolt on the outdrive that Mike mentioned above? Another thing you can check is have someone at the wheel while you watch the steering arm from inside the engine bay. See how much the wheel turns before the arm actually starts to move. I don't know if it's normal or not by my 3300 has play in the steering. When I first got the boat I was way oversteering at slow speeds trying to track straight. Once used to the handling it's not difficult to stay straight at slow speeds. Just an FYI, I did a steering pin replacement. It's a pretty involved job but that's for another discussion if it comes to that. Good luck.
Maxum Bravo 3 steering question
Linear Mode
