EZ Steer bar driving me nuts!

[vetting]

5.7 Mercruiser with an Alpha 1 drive.  Hooked into a 9.9 Yamaha high thrust (with power tilt) that is on a fixed motor bracket.  

I've always had issues with being able to steer with just the kicker and have made adjustments over the years.  I even went as far as disconnecting the throttle and shift cable from kicker since I control it with an iTroll anyways.  

This year I converted over my steering to full hydraulic on the main and went from a Raymarine Wheel Pilot to a Type 1 pump.  It steers the main really well.  However, I keep on getting hitting the limit when its trying to steer the kicker.   It will work fine for awhile and then randomly hit the lock.  So the main is hitting the limit lock and isnt pushing the kicker far enough over.  I would assume this is happening because the bar is sliding instead of pushing it like it should.  With the kicker being high thrust and it pushing a 26' boat, there is a fair amount of torque on the kicker. 

So should I just keep on cranking the bar down tighter so that it cant slip?  Or should I just figure out how to add hydraulics to the kicker and call it a day? 

Edited May 31 by vetting

[PD Buoy]

Hey Mike I would try cranking down on the ez-steer bar screws and see if that helps. On my Baha I had to get the longest bar available from ez-steer otherwise it would keep coming out of the bracket.

[vetting]

@PD Buoy well i figured out the problem.  The detents on the bar (the brass nubs that actually grab the bar) are completely trashed.  They were worn down to nothing.  I guess I did get 5 years of trolling out of it.  So the option is to buy a replacement bar (you can buy a detent kit but the bar has a lot of wear) or since I converted my main Alpha drive to hydraulic, figure out how to add hydraulic to the kicker.  Would have to figure out how to switch the kicker hydraulics on/off though I think.  

 

[vetting]

By the way, it wasnt an issue with the bar coming apart.  It was an issue turning left and the bar slipping and the main not being able to "push" the kicker to the side.  

[vetting]

Ended up ordering a new bar for now and then I have some time to figure out how to add hydraulics to the kicker. 

[sherman brown]

On 6/4/2024 at 9:09 AM, vetting said:

Ended up ordering a new bar for now and then I have some time to figure out how to add hydraulics to the kicker. 

you should have been able to tighten it enough that it wouldn't slip when turning. I have a Mercruiser outdrive to a 9.9 4-stroke Merc. and it steers great. I have my kicker mounted on a Panther tilt the only time it slips is when I tilt my kicker. and when I told the kicker down I have to turn my outdrive all the way over to correct the bar. I have a short bar for an outboard to outboard but it would be too short for an outdrive. I believe my bar is 39" closed and centered it just fits my kicker but my kicker bracket is turned slightly so it's centered with the outdrive.

[vetting]

On 6/8/2024 at 1:20 PM, sherman brown said:

you should have been able to tighten it enough that it wouldn't slip when turning. I have a Mercruiser outdrive to a 9.9 4-stroke Merc. and it steers great. I have my kicker mounted on a Panther tilt the only time it slips is when I tilt my kicker. and when I told the kicker down I have to turn my outdrive all the way over to correct the bar. I have a short bar for an outboard to outboard but it would be too short for an outdrive. I believe my bar is 39" closed and centered it just fits my kicker but my kicker bracket is turned slightly so it's centered with the outdrive.

I couldnt tighten it anymore.  The brass inserts were worn down to nubs.