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Alpha one drive Movement

S

scarab_excell

Contributing Member
"How much side to side drive m

"How much side to side drive movement should a alpha one have?

If it has to much where could it be worn at to cause this?

What I am talking about is if the drive is tilted up and you grab it how far should it move without turn the wheel with the engine off?

I looked at it real close today, at the pivot pin that connects to the steering arm there is about 1/8 inch of play. Of course at the tip of the foot with it in the up postion there is about 2 inches of play back and forth.

But the gimbal is only moving about a 1/8 th at the most.

How long can I run like this? I dont want to spend big $$ right now as the wife will kill me. This is my secound boat this year and I still have the first one so I cant even tell her I need a gimbal ring. Can I tighten it? Or should I just use it like it is?

Like they say if it Floats or F*cks it is going to cost money!!! Dang they are telling the truth!!!"
 
"I love your analogy about F&#

"I love your analogy about F'ing and F'ing; and ain't it the truth!
The kind of play you are talking about is extreme. There should be none at all, save maybe 1/8" or so at the tail end of the drive.
It sounds like your pivot pin and/or steering arm are badly worn, and it will only get worse. Eventually you will get side to side drive swings while underway that will make the boat hard to control, even dangerous. I am surprised you haven't noticed this yet.
It's a major job to repair, definitely a winter project if you do it yourself. You should get yourself a manual which will show you how it is done.
Rod"
 
Jeff
I have had some success

Jeff
I have had some success in eliminating the play in the steering pin and and arm by using loctite 601 on the surfaces and replacing the clamp bolt with the highest grade High tensile bolt you can get your hands on so you can realy put some leverage on it when doing it up and get the clamp as tight as possible.
its worth a try.
Regards
Peter C
 
"remove the existing grade 5 s

"remove the existing grade 5 stainless bolts (capscrews actually) and go find grade 8 steel and grade 8 steel nylock nuts (stainless if you can find them) to replace them.

Then, using a half inch drive air wrench or breaker bar, man-up and crank down those bolts till the gap closes. The aluminum on the gimble ring can take it.

If you try and torque the existing two stainless bolts, they will strip out and you will be a sad man trying to remove the nuts.

I've done this drill twice with good results. Not the right repair but its cheap and it holds."
 
"At the risk of sounding stupi

"At the risk of sounding stupid, just where is this clamp that needs tightening? I think I may have the same problem"
 
"Depends what year the drive i

"Depends what year the drive is. Some of the drive produced in the late 80's had a splined steering shaft that they have an upgrade kit for. If, at the top of gimble ring, you can see the steering shaft where it enters the boat you might be able to determine if its squared or splined. If square, tighten the two bolts at the top of gimble ring to 60 ft. lbs. There are nylock nuts on the back so you have to turn the drive one way then the other to get them both."
 
Thanks Kevin. I know those gim

Thanks Kevin. I know those gimbal bolts are not tight at all. I'll have a look to see if the shaft is square or splined. I'm getting about half inch of play in the drive.
 
"Had the same problem this spr

"Had the same problem this spring.. What I did was loosen off the bolts, and cut 4 brass shims .020" about 1/2" high by about 1.5" long, with the bolts loose, I found I could slip two shims horiz. in beside the tiller pin on both sides.. Then tightend the bolts back up.. This snugged the whole thing up, the slop (about 1-2" either way at the OD) vanished.. It was like driving a new boat.. When I took it out of the water in the fall, the pin was still nice and snug in the ring. I only put about 15 hours on the boat this year, and would not hesitate to put it back in the water in the spring without changing the gimbal ring.. The shims did the job.. The wear in this spot is usually caused by not checking it every year, and snuggng up as needed.. I bought my boat used, and the previous owner had all his work done by the marina who obviously overlooked this part year after year.. A new Gimbal ring is the 'real' cure, but this works, and if it's checked regularly, and stays snug I can't see a problem with it.. This is a fix, that can even be done while the boat is in the water.. No need to haul it."
 
"Bill, thanks for your comment

"Bill, thanks for your comments. I also bought my boat from someone who had all work done at a marina. I'll have a go with your suggestions."
 
"I replaced my bolts with the

"I replaced my bolts with the grade 8 bolts, it tighten up fine, no slop and the steering is tight. I dont see why everone doesnt do this. It is fixed now!

Thanks for the info.

Jeff"
 
To recap: I didn't need an

To recap: I didn't need any shims. My bolts just were not tightened. Obviously this had been overlooked on last year's winterization. There is no play now!! Thanks for all the input.

Bill
 
"Ahh You lucked out!! After ye

"Ahh You lucked out!! After years of neglect by the previous owner & Marina, mine was worn too much to just tighten.. The shims added the additional material required to tighten it up without breaking the casting..
uhoh.gif
"
 
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