John K Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 Has anyone had issues with the steering bracket breaking where it connects to the steering linkage? It was completely rusted through! Thankfully it broke as I pulled away from the dock. The day before my wife and I were cruising around at 40mph. I don't know what would have happened if it broke then. Of course its not an easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 They used poor casting on early VMAX’s. This has happened quite a bit, along with steering tubes rusting and freezing. Problem is the powerhead needs to be pulled to gain access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh141 Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 What happens is the steering balance bar seizes inside the tilt tube. When you tilt up and down that steering arm bends back and forth and cracks. The flexing back and forth and the subsequent rust that forms causes it to break. You will also find that the Trim and Tilt pins seize making it difficult to remove the Showa Trim and Tilt unit. Very early on my 2012 SHO the trim and tilt motor was dragging ( the ram pin and lower pin were seizing and that lead me to a seized steering balance bar. I had to replace the tilt tube and balance bar. I could not get them apart. At the same time I replaced the T&T pins with Five Star Marine Stainless replacements. Been good since then. When I reassembled I used Mercury 2-4-C Teflon grease. If you grab the two black steering arms and the Steering ram that assembly should move freely up and down. If it does not the balance bar is seized inside the tilt tube. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted January 14 Author Report Share Posted January 14 Thanks for the replies. The boat is at the shop now. Just waiting for the parts. Hopefully Yamaha corrected the casting of these brackets. Having the oil pump replaced also while the powerhead is off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 Yup. Had that failure on our 2014 22TE with an sho. Expensive fix. Glad no one got hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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