SAN Steering chatter

[jbwake]

We've got an 04 SANTE with 150 hours on it and lately we seem to have developed some play in the steering rack. Particularly when the boat is loaded up the steering wheel will vibrate and you can easily hear the chattering from behing the dash. This happens when pulling a rider out of the water or less often at about 1500 revs when circling round a fallen rider. It goes away when up to speed.

The other day I grabbed the wheel and a mate moved the rudder back and forth on the trailer and you could feel and hear the small movement which seemed to be between the rack and the pinion. As far as I know this unit has no adjustment.

We did experience the same thing a little bit on our 03 SANTE but only a few times whereas this seems to be getting worse. I'm hoping it's something somebody on here can help us with. Ideas/solutions welcome.

[awake4air]

FYI. I'm not sure if this is related, but I just heard about a recall on all 03' and 04' with something in the steering wheel. Maybe worth checking into.

I have noticed the same sort of thing on my 02' SAN. I think that most boats are mechanically lacking in the steering wheel area. The pully system is probably to blame. I wish it would feel more like the steering wheel in a car.

[NautiqueJeff]

I agree with awake4air. See the main PlanetNautique page for information on the steering recall.

[thevogt]

Judging by the hull numbers, it is all the earlier production hulls that are affected. Hope everyone gets a fix for the season.

Gary

[bbc3]

jbwake

we've experienced the same thing. We notice it most when pulling the rider up and the steering is a little crooked, so I loosen my grip on the wheel and let the boat straighten by itself---that's when we hear the chatter. If I hold the wheel and turn it myself, usually there is no chatter. NautiqueJeff or Gary our 04 is one of the recalled hull numbers. Do you guys have any idea what they will do to fix this and approx. how long it should take to remedy (I know the latter greatly depends on each dealer)? Is it just a new bolt or whole new steering system?

Thanks!

[thevogt]

While I don't pretend to have any inside info, from what I've read here in some of the threads, it sounds like one of the retaining mounting bolts near the tiller could lossen to the point of breaking away from the actual mount. If this happens, as CC has stated, you WILL lose partial or complete control of the steering. I haven't seen the steering mounts on anything other than my '93, but if it attaches in the same manner in the rear, it is the flex ball joint clamp that has 4 clamp bolts holding the sleeve on the cable. ALL of this is pure speculation on my part and not to be taken as gospel for your boats. I had to replace my cable and forgot to tighten it all the way. I ended up being able to turn hard left and only halfway right before I caught my error. Call your local dealer and see if they have the repair procedures in place. They must have gotten them by now if CC has posted a recall. I know in my business (auto dealer), we get the repair procedures before any parts are even available to facilitate a rapid repair instead of fumbling with the unknown. Good luck everyone.

Gary

[NautiqueJeff]

The repair procedure is quite simple. It involves using a product that will not allow one of the bolts that holds the stering system in place to loosen. The procedure may take longer on boats with ballast tanks, but word on the street is that dealers should be able to complete the repair in about twenty minutes, after they've practiced on a few. All dealers have received the fix sheet, and all have the necessary parts to complete the repair.

[bbc3]

thanks guys!!!

[mattoz]

hey guys, JBWake and myself own the boat first discussed in this forum. We changed our prop over to known good one and this stopped our vibration problem. Tigtening the boss bolt also helped. Unbalanced prop was the major problem we believe. Hope this helps others in the future.

[Luke]

We have the actual repair document listed in our "Recalls" section on the homepage. You can find it here: http://www.planetnautique.com/index....iewtopic&t=311