Dumb question about G2 steering

[rangerranger]

Apologies in advance for such a basic question.
i have a 2016 G2 250HO on my Ranger. It doesn’t have power steering.
Since day 1 it has always been hard to torn left at higher speeds and seems to have much more steering torque than any other boat I’ve owned.
In 2018 the swivel/tilt assembly was replaced under warranty because my tilt wouldn’t keep the motor up. The dealer said they power purged the system after the installation.
Afterwards there was no change in steering vs. before.
Over the last 6 months the steering has become more and more notchy feeling, especially turning left, to the point where I’m not comfortable running at higher speeds. Trying to get it back into the dealer.

dumb questions:
When people talk about power purging are they referring to the G2 steering assembly or do they mean the Seastar hydraulic system?
Could this be as simple as first checking the Seastar fluid level, or is that what needs to be power purged?
I haven’t opened the Seastar cap to check the level.
Thanks for the help!

[ELGIN]

To begin with there are no dumb questions.

The steering system on the G2 Must Be trimmed all the way down when bleeding, No Exceptions

Power purge is the brand name of the powered pump built by SeaStar steering systems to power bleed the hydraulic steering system.

The toqrue you feel in the steering can be caused by several things, prop, boat, gear case damage, air in the system or over trimming.

What prop are you running?

[rangerranger]

Thanks for the quick reply.
So it sounds like there is nothing I can check on my own?

The boat is a 2016 Ranger Z520C with an Atlas hydraulic jack plate.
The prop is the 3 blade Raker HO 14 1/2 26 that came with the boat originally.
I get routine service on the lower unit each year. There has never been any sign of issues.
I have experimented with jackplate settings between 4 and 16 and trim from 25-75 and haven’t found a combination that made much improvement.
So there are 2 basic issues 1) it has always been stiff steering left and 2) it has recently developed the very notchy feeling turning, especially left.


I took the boat to the Evinrude dealer in March and they couldn’t see any issues. However because of the Covid situation they couldn’t do a water test. It really needs to be driven to confirm there is an issue or tell me I'm crazy.

For purposes of figuring this out am I correct assuming I should go to the Evinrude dealer and not Ranger? My dealer that previously handled both brands has since been dropped by Ranger.

For Service and warranty purposes is the Seastar system considered part of the boat or the motor? My Ranger 3 year warranty is almost up. I have 10 years on the motor. Right now I don’t know if I have a warranty issue, a routine service issue, or just a hard to steer boat/motor/prop or setup issue.

thanks again!

[Jumping Jimmy]

You have a hydraulic plate. Have you tried adjusting the plate and trim to limit the steering torque that you feel? On my Stratos there is a sweet spot where the motor is trimmed high but not all the way up and there feels like zero steering torque.

[rangerranger]

Yes, I’ve experimented with the jackplate and trim settings and haven’t found a sweet spot.

[ELGIN]

The notchy feeling could be a concern, yes this most is most likely a motor issue so see your Evinrude dealer.

[rangerranger]

Reopening this older thread.
Over the course of the fall my boat got increasingly hard to steer. Left turns at any speed were very difficult. It got to the point where it was hard work running even at lower speeds. The boat is back at the dealer and they said it is low on fluid but they cant find leaks anywhere. They are power purging it again.
The fluid has to be going somewhere. Has anyone else experienced mystery leaks like this? it is a 2016 G2 without power steering.
Until they actually find a leak or other issue its hard to have confidence that the issue will be resolved after power purging again.

Note: the boat had the whole trim/tilt assembly replaced a couple years ago under warranty because of an internal trim fluid leak. Could there be any connection?

[bighare]

The description still seems to be air in the system. The bleeding requirements described by Elgin still seem at play. Engine trimmed all the way down. Engine held in a full port turn. The steering system could have a leak at the stern bracket area. The low oil comment to me also leads to - how much low?
the skeg of the gearcase has a built in camber to add compensation / correction for hard left steering.
unless some work on the issue was performed in the last 5 months since June it seems to me you need to go back where this thread ended on June 4 and start over.

[TheRichInc]

Get a rx4 4 blade prop it is much better on steering. I had same issue when I first got mine.

[fishwest]

I have a 2017 on a 520 and have the same problem. I have had it a dealer several times and Evinrude replaced the mount with steering mechanism once.
It is still hard to steer. Definitely a major flaw in an otherwise great motor.

[veryspeedy]

I currently have my 2019 200 HA motor at the dealer for notchy or shudder feel inthe steering when turning to the Right the dealer says they have a case open with evinrude but dont know how or what to do to fix the problem as o right now we are waiting for BRP to give dealer a answer.
Has this been a problem from day one on your motor?

[rangerranger]

Mine is steering better now that they purged/refilled the fluid. The dealer said it was "really low" but they can't find evidence of a leak anywhere. That doesn't inspire confidence that it won't happen again. While it is much improved, from day 1 this boat has steered much harder turning left than any other boat I've owned. Playing with jackplate and trim settings can help but doesn't make a big difference.