My 2017 24SSBXP has less than 10 hours on it and I need to know if the cable steering is supposed to have a lot of play. I'm talking about 40 degrees of rotation and it seems really stiff once the motor does start to move. My dealer said to keep an eye on it but I think there is a problem. Anyone with cable steering................is this really normal?
Cable Steering Play/Slop
- Thread starter H2GO
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Mike31406
Well-Known Member
I had cable steering on my last Bennie and it had very little play in the steering.
Vikingstaff
Moderator
That doesn't seem right at all. I would absolutely take it in to get looked at. Way to much play in that steering.
Alicedream
Well-Known Member
I had cable steering on my first Benny and no play. Get it looked at.
SEMPERFI8387
Moderator
I'm not positive, but it acts like missing teeth on gear drive. Does it only do it at that point, or if you actually start to turn the motor a little bit once it makes contact, does it still act the same way?
BigKahuna
Well-Known Member
Was it like that when you took delivery?!? Or did it get progressively worse?
It was just really hard to turn at first but I didn't notice any play.I questioned my dealer and they said it was normal but they never looked at it blaming it on the motor size. Now last night I noticed the slop and occasional groans from the helm area along with the large amount of play. I just hope I'm not down for months waiting for parts. It's been 8 weeks and my privacy enclosure is still not in.
myv10
Well-Known Member
This is no normal, I installed a replacement cable a few years ago. the cable is fed into the helm and by turning the wheel the cable is drawn in and then locked. it is then attached to he motor. Does your motor have full turning motion once it starts turning? You definitely have a problem, I would guess it is at the helm.
kaydano
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Mine has no play.
I stopped by my dealer this morning and they let me look at 3 other pontoons with Teleflex. All 3 had play in them but not quite as bad as mine and one was hydraulic steering. I'm going to take it easy for a few days on the boat and see what happens. I'm not impressed with this so far. Seems rather cheaply made in my opinion. My dealer said there is cable steering made by Uflex that is much higher quality. Regardless they said they will come to the marina to look at it for me.
Well we spent all day Saturday on the lake putting around and the steering got much worse. Now it is making random popping noises when going straight with a slight turn of the wheel. I'm now convinced the problem is in the helm area as others have said. I will give my dealer one more chance to actually look at it instead of trying to make me feel like I'm complaining about nothing. If they don't act I will need to contact Bennington for help. A brand new pontoon and I don't feel comfortable going faster than 10 mph.
lakeliving
Well-Known Member
Whites landing will take care of you. They've helped me out in the past.
kaydano
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You were smart to take it easy.
They'll fix it. Or they'll have hell to pay from Bennington. This is clearly a problem, and Bennington fixes their problems.
They'll fix it. Or they'll have hell to pay from Bennington. This is clearly a problem, and Bennington fixes their problems.
OK folks I'm updating my steering issue. So far my dealer has not sent out a mechanic as they do not feel this is an issue. My wife and I were out last week in heavy seas and the motor was flopping back and forth and the boat was almost uncontrollable. I recorded another video yesterday showing the motor movement with just small waves. Just note the steering wheel is NOT moving at all when the motor is flopping around. You can even hear the motor flopping back and forth now too. I'm sending this to Bennington also to try and get some help. Here is the second video:
lakeliving
Well-Known Member
Weird. My hydraulic has a little slop but nothing like that. I'm shocked the dealer isn't getting this taken care of. They've always helped me out in the past. Heck, Jonathan came out to our dock in Howell to install the registration numbers on our boat years ago. They also came out to install a new helm chair replaced under warranty as well. I'd raise a little hell and let them know it's a safety concern and being the selling dealer they would be liable should an accident occur.
Michiman
Well-Known Member
I've got a different set-up but I can tell you that mine doesn't do that whatsoever. I can only imagine the flopping around when you're under power. If that's acceptable than I'm a monkey's uncle.
Well I got a reply back from Bennington engineering and they tell me the play is normal and they recommend that an upgrade to hydraulic steering for all engines 115 hp and above. Hmm I mentioned this to my dealer and they told me the hydraulic steering is prone to leaking, I would need to pull the motor etc. and pretty much talked me out of it. I'm determined to fix this my self. Anyone ever add hydraulic steering and if so did you have to pull the engine? I'm thinking based on the videos I've seen it's like a two hour job.
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cwag911
Moderator
There should be no need to pull the motor.
myv10
Well-Known Member
The sea star hydraulic kit has everything you need to install. Takes about 2 to 3 hours. When you take the old cable out, tie a cord on the end so you can pull the cable out, tie the hydraulic lines to the cord and it is fairly easy to pull them into the helm. No need to pull the motor.
