Gambler boat/Mercury/Seastar steering issue

Have been noticing that the steering on my Gambler(01) 2100 with my(04) 250 xs has some slight play in the wheel and is hard to turn at higher speeds with a noticable drifting of the wheel on long runs. Showed it to a repretable (sp) friend of mine who is a certified Merc mechanic and we found the seastar hydraulic cylinder (part # HC5345) to have a noticable play where the ram floats left to right.He says that this should all be tight w/ no play. Does this part wear out that easy? and there has never been any signs of a leak so why the drift in the wheel ? we also noticed the pivot bolt at the steering arm to have a slight amount of play in it as well. will upgrading the steering cylinder to the pro series (#HC6345) be worth the money? I am very paranoid about this situation and the last thing I want is a steering failure at a high speed which would result into certain ejection with injury and possibly worse. Need to hear from the experts on this one.

This can be caused by air in the system, or simply by "internal wear" that's allowing fluid to leak from one side to the other.

Like anything that moves constantly, steering cylinders DO wear out. In high performance applications, this is even more common.

The "Pro" series cylinder seems to have a little better lifespan, but they do still wear.

Personally, I'm fond of the U-flex design cylinder (it will even bolt right up to your engine and lines). These are some of the most "robust" cylinders on the market... I have yet to see one that we installed come back with a problem. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/thumbsup2.gif

the 6300 cylinder is the better application for your hull/motor. the 5300 PSI is less and the 6300 is much higher and it also can improve topend, by staying steadier under power. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/thumbsup2.gif

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2500 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the 6300 cylinder is the better application for your hull/motor. the 5300 PSI is less and the 6300 is much higher and it also can improve topend, by staying steadier under power. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/thumbsup2.gif </TD></TR></TABLE>

The "PSI <U>Rating</U>" may be higher on the 6345 cylinder.... but the "actual PSI" is determined and supplied by the "helm or pump". PSI rating is NOWHERE near 5300 psi (I'm sure you know this... but I'll point it out just in case someone else doesn't understand). http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/wink.gif

That right, I just was making sure they understand the internal valving has a higher degree of stability, I am glad YOU are here since we'd be down the PSI road.

thanks

Anybody else on here using the uflex steering and how do you like it and who carries them w/prices ? Would like to see a pic of one on a Gambler or any bassboat for that matter. Thanks

Don't have a picture of one "mounted".... but you can see what the cylinder looks like here:

http://uflexusa.ultraflexgroup...t=454

Note the "Stainless" tiller arm (vs. the aluminum bracket utilized on some others).