steering fix

[Quest]

Thought I would share this. My 323 always had a little resistance and slack in the steering and after many offshore miles it developed a concerning clunk. It turned out that the bronze pins that serve as the axles for the steering pulleys were severely worn. As a result the pulleys were wobbling. I checked with edson and they wanted about $60 for two replacements. So I bought some bronze rod and made them for about $12. It made a big difference! Steering is perfect now.

[Alma]

I too have a clunk but I thought it was the rudder bearing. I'll check the sheave pins before I splash.

I thought my pins were steel- They look bronze too.

Thanks for the heads up.

[T_schlueter]

I used brass rods to fashion new pins. We'll see how they hold up. More concerning to me was the condition of the idler plate. It's a total rust blob. I replaced it with a 12x12 5/16 aluminum plate. I don't understand why Edson used steel. Everything else is either bronze/brass or aluminum. Even the bolts holding the pedestal in place. Oddly, steel nuts were used which were totally fused to the bolts. I've attached pics of my old plate.