[jbird]

I have 1999 Mariah Jubilee with a 5.7 Mercruiser with the Bravo 3 outdrive.
At the end of last season the steering developed a hard spot that wasn't in the same spot every time, when it would catch you could turn the other way and then turn back and it wouldn't catch again.
Now I have about 15 degrees of steering either way, you can pull (really hard) through it, but I can't drive it this way.
I'm not sure if it's the cable, the power steering pump or the steering ram behind the motor.
Any info would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[GaryDoug]

I'm no expert on this by any means. But it could be that you have a loose piece of a broken tooth on the rack gear, if that is the type you have. I would take the rack loose from the helm/pinion housing and inspect for any loose bits of metal. It's usually just the 4 screws to remove.
In case this isn't clear, the helm is the gear housing under the steering wheel.

[jbird]

Thanks for the info, I will start there tomorrow and let you know what I find.
👍🏻

[jbird]

GaryDoug, you led me in the right direction, thank you so much.
I did as you said and found the rack that sits on the gear at the end of the steering wheel, was 4 - 7/16 bolts. After removing it, I realized the steering wheel was still binding, I had now ruled out the cable and ram that sits behind the engine.
After having to use impact to remove the 3/4" bolt on the steering wheel and a 3 armed puller to break the steering wheel off, I knew it was somewhere in that assembly that goes through the dash. After removing the 3 bolts I pulled the assembly out, I removed the 2 allen head screws that were loose and separating the tilt assembly and pinion gear pieces, I realized the 2 loose allen heads were the culprit,because each piece spun freely. The bolts had loosened over the years and were dragging in the housing. After filing down the burs caused by the pieces rubbing, cleaning, greasing and reassembling the unit, my boat turns once again with no hitches. Glad I didn't take it to my boat guy and have to "Break Out Another Thousand", his quotes always double from the original quote.
Thanks again for the help GaryDoug it's greatly appreciated, cheers ��!

[GaryDoug]

You are very welcome. Glad I was able to help... in a way.

I recently replaced my steering cable and helm. I found that even though the make was the same, the new one did not fit as well as the original. I guess this boat was designed to fit the steering system available at the time.