2002 227 496GXI steering hard

[HITTHEGAS]

Hello everyone,
I bought this boat last yr and don’t remember it steering hard. It has 450 hours on it , and has been well maintained. I have checked the fluid and it was a little low at temp. I added a little and it is still a little hard. It is more noticeable at very slow speed. Could this be the rack? I don’t have a Cobalt dealer close by:-(
I’m wondering if this is normal or is there any adjustments that can be made? Thanks in advance for any all help.

[Big Block Power]

My steering is super easy. 1 finger easy. Could be the rack, pump, cable. Drive pins.

[cmattj]

Push the lower button gear release on your shifter next time when out idling. This way you can bring the engine off idle to 2500 rpm and see if any improvements are there.
Typically idle speed pressure and tired components as she is celebrating 16 years old.

Also as BB mentioned with the boat on the trailer ( Engine off) move the drive trimmed Down with the skew close to the ground and move the drive left and right and feel and listen for binding noises and or drive pin creak squeaking.

Not a biggie.. I'm old.. I creak

[rrfisher]

Funny you bring this up, I noticed it as well this past weekend. It was a windy weekend so docking was a fight each time and I only noticed it at idle so I'm going to ignore it for now.

[AsLan7]

Hello everyone,
I bought this boat last yr and don’t remember it steering hard. It has 450 hours on it , and has been well maintained. I have checked the fluid and it was a little low at temp. I added a little and it is still a little hard. It is more noticeable at very slow speed. Could this be the rack? I don’t have a Cobalt dealer close by:-(
I’m wondering if this is normal or is there any adjustments that can be made? Thanks in advance for any all help.

Is it difficult to turn the steering wheel the entire range or does it tend to bind at a certain spot?

I had an issue where one of our cables was catching on the steering "fork" and actually caused binding. We have since fixed it but the bandage in blue was where she was rubbing that fork to the right which moves back & forth.
It has since been professionally fixed and mounted out of the way. May want to check to make sure all your cables are free from any of the moving parts on the transom.
.

[HITTHEGAS]

Thanks for the info. Is the pic in the back of the engine compartment? Is there parts removed ? I do notice it only binds in certain spots. I will definitely inspect with the cover up and turning the wheel. I probably should have checked that first. It’s tough because I have it slipped and when we go out the wife and kids don’t like sitting for long..lol

[AsLan7]

Thanks for the info. Is the pic in the back of the engine compartment? Is there parts removed ? I do notice it only binds in certain spots. I will definitely inspect with the cover up and turning the wheel. I probably should have checked that first. It’s tough because I have it slipped and when we go out the wife and kids don’t like sitting for long..lol

Yes, that pic is a view of the transom from inside the engine compartment (with the engine and drive pulled).

You should still be able to see back there with a good flashlight while using a little contortionist movement. Have one person turn the wheel back and forth while idling and not in gear while you check. See if any cabling is binding on that fork.

Certainly easier to check with your engine out of the way though.

.

[HITTHEGAS]

Wow! Do you have to pull the engine to fix this?

[AsLan7]

Wow! Do you have to pull the engine to fix this?

No
Had some other issues going on. Steering can certainly be fixed without engine pull.

.

[Ytmsn]

No, hes not telling the whole story. You see, A7 is a bit OCD and pulls his motor to change the oil and clean his bilge. Hes one of "those guys"

[HITTHEGAS]

Thanks for the advise .... I will check this .

[HITTHEGAS]

On a positive note, I did pull 64mph on gps this weekend with a full tank and a little chop:-) I love this Boat!!

[AsLan7]

On a positive note, I did pull 64mph on gps this weekend with a full tank and a little chop:-) I love this Boat!!

Nice!

[rrfisher]

Funny you bring this up, I noticed it as well this past weekend. It was a windy weekend so docking was a fight each time and I only noticed it at idle so I'm going to ignore it for now.

Well, I checked the fluid reservoir and it is bone dry, which was caused by a leak is my guess. Manual says Duraplus power steering and trim fluid which of course I can't find. Googled around and found people suggest automatic transition fluid, Dextron III+ was the consensus.

Any suggestions on what I should use for power steering fluid?

[Big Block Power]

I know Walmart has quicksilver trim fliud in the auto dept. Myself I don't know why pwr steering fluid wouldn't work? It's prob a AC delco pump anyways. The rack who knows who makes that. But I had a hose clamp leak at the cooler on the back of the engine this year. Double clamped and all good.