www.iFourWinns.com

Bad news...at least for me. Took her out for the weekend, we were going to camp overnight on lake mojave. Went about 6 miles down the river and the steering was ok, not great it still seemed to be sticking just not as often or as much. Got down to where we were going to stay, and she froze completely. I couldn't move the wheel at all. Power steering pump is full, didn't see any wear or visible kinks in the cable. Really nice boater finally stopped and offered to tow us back to willow beach. At least I had power and we were able to go almost 20 mph the whole way using his boat as my steering.

Back at the ramp I tried moving the out drive by hand, had some friends examine her, no luck. Shes stuck.

Any thoughts? I will have my mechanic look at her this week...just driving me a little crazy not knowing.

By the way, we have towing insurance...but it caps at $300 the tow was looking at around $900...Looks like I am in the wrong business.

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Chris and Alicia
Las Vegas, NV
ALTIVA
1996 Four Winns 238 Vista Dlx 5.8Fi

Steering cable? Just searching the web for generic "steering stuck" But I can't find out how long mine is or what kind to buy...of course I won't be doing it anyway, too big a job for me.

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Chris and Alicia
Las Vegas, NV
ALTIVA
1996 Four Winns 238 Vista Dlx 5.8Fi

my guess would be the cable, unhook the cable at the engine and see if you can move the out drive

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1989 245 vista
5.7 cobra

Thanks for the response crossram. I had been thinking about that. Do I simply unscrew the nut at the end of the steering cable? Or can someone give me some instruction?

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Chris and Alicia
Las Vegas, NV
ALTIVA
1996 Four Winns 238 Vista Dlx 5.8Fi

if its the same as mine at the end of the cable there is a rod that connects the steering arm to the cable pull the cotter pin on the bottom and pull out the pin

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1989 245 vista
5.7 cobra

Update:

Had my mechanic take a look at her today...no one would have guessed this.

He wanted to disconnect the helm to check the cable and in doing so removed the tilt steering wheel housing. At this point he realized that the wheel wouldn't turn even though it was completely removed from the boat! A quick examination found a bolt busted off and wedged into the metal housing and causing the metal "clamp" part of the tilt to be completely wedged and stuck in the metal housing. So he's taking it back to the shop and drilling out the bolt and replacing...we think this will completely fix the problem. Here are some pics, not great but I was trying to document over his shoulder.

This is where the problem was.


the 4 pieces that actually came out (there should be 5) and the broken screw. It is a self locking nut, but I was able to unscrew it off of this piece by hand!


This is the stuck piece


This now turns freely! Onec the Tilt mech is put back together I should be back in business.


Is this one of those "tighten down these nuts twice a year" maintenance suggestions that I have missed or is mine just a fluke?

Has anyone seen this happen?

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Chris and Alicia
Las Vegas, NV
ALTIVA
1996 Four Winns 238 Vista Dlx 5.8Fi

Sounds like a fluke. But nice to hear it was at the helm and not the engine. Should be a lot less $$$$.

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

Chris, I had something similar happen on my '95 190 Horizon. The screws that hold the tilt steering's universal joint to the steering wheel and steering shaft came loose when the 1995 boat was 2or 3 years old and locked the steering. Prior to this I did notice that the steering system had a little more play in it. I'm also very glad that I was driving at the time, and not my wife or son. With the tilt steering systems it is rather easy to peel the boot back from the dash toward the steering wheel and turn the wheel back and forth a little to check for a loose u joint. No tools are needed unless you need to tighten something. A #3 Phillips screwdriver worked for me and
I was able to do it in place without disassembly.

_________________
Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

Interesting. I've never had a tilt for a boat so I did not realize that could happen. I would use locktite on the bolt's threads.....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

SI - That'sexactly what happened, mine just broke the bolt and got the whole piece jamed. Looking back I wish I would've tightened those bolts. No one I spoke to guessed this could have been the problem...probably one of those once in a lifetime events.

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Chris and Alicia
Las Vegas, NV
ALTIVA
1996 Four Winns 238 Vista Dlx 5.8Fi

glad to hear you got it figured out

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1989 245 vista
5.7 cobra

I have a 23.8 that has the SAME problem. Except the pins that align/lock the parts are sheared. Does anyone have suggestion for where to find this component? A part number? if not OEM, is there aftermarket? Thank you.

mark

Mark Which part is sheared? The "pins" were nothing more than allen screws with lock nuts. Should be able to pick those up anywhere.

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Chris and Alicia
Las Vegas, NV
ALTIVA
1996 Four Winns 238 Vista Dlx 5.8Fi

I'd honestly get rid of that. If they used pot metal or less than top quality bolts that's pretty damn scary. Just go back to the regular wheel.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Lou, I couldn't see a way to convert it to a non-tilt wheel. It's utterly useless.

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Chris and Alicia
Las Vegas, NV
ALTIVA
1996 Four Winns 238 Vista Dlx 5.8Fi