Steering Nozzle bottom bolt and bushing gone.

[rsg1963]

Hey guys, had an interesting weekend, last weekend. My steering suddenly locked to Port side and back to center-ONLY. No way to return it to Starboard. So I jumped into the water and tried moving things by hand. No-go. Then I decided to force it with my foot. It worked. But I noticed there was still a very discernible kink in the steering. Once back on the trailer I noticed the starboard steering nozzle was flopping around. Come to find out the bottom bolt was missing along with a bushing. See pics I grabbed from the web for illustration purposes. Showing blot location and bolts..

So...my dilemma is where to find this part quickly. Really it's the bushing I need, as I may find a similar bolt locally. Any suggestions?
Also, wondering if anyone else had this happen?

 

[Bill D]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC should be able to help you out. I know he supplies an additional tie rod with the steering system for your boat.

 

[Beachbummer]

In a pinch, take the one you have to Ace hardware and anywhere else with a good stainless selection. To save the weekend you might use something close until you can get the right stuff over the mail.

The smaller the hardware store (within reason) the more likely you will find it. HD and Lowe's are terrible for things like this. A bearing house might also be able to help if you are in a large city.

Good luck!!!

 

[rsg1963]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC should be able to help you out. I know he supplies an additional tie rod with the steering system for your boat.

Thanks Bill D, but I have the Cobrajet steering with both bars already. The bars are fine. It's the bucket bolt outlined in the pic that decided to leave the boat.

 

[rsg1963]

In a pinch, take the one you have to Ace hardware and anywhere else with a good stainless selection. To save the weekend you might use something close until you can get the right stuff over the mail.

The smaller the hardware store (within reason) the more likely you will find it. HD and Lowe's are terrible for things like this. A bearing house might also be able to help if you are in a large city.

Good luck!!!

You are right in line with my thoughts for the actual bolt. I was hoping someone with one of those schematics showing part numbers/assemblies will reply so I know what to search for. My local dealer is more suited to selling the actual boats and matching vests, than hardware and parts.

 

[Beachbummer]

Bushings are quite common in many industries, and you may find some in loose drawers at Ace also.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Well maybe I can help you out here, it really is not a bushing it is a sleeve that goes over the bolt , the nozzle actually pivots directly on that sleeve there are actually NO bushings Between the nozzle casting and that sleeve. The force of the water exiting the jet pump places a huge amount of force on that small 8mm bolt If the factory did not place thread locking compound or someone worked on the nozzle and removed and reinstalled that bolt it must have thread locking compound put back on it or the force of the nozzle turning will loosen it and it can easily fall out.
I know all about this because some of my steering systems utilize that bolt and I make sure people know to put thread locking compound on the new bolt when they install it.
I actually tell them several times in various places because if they don't use thread locking compound they are taking a very unnecessary chance of the bolt falling out.
Now the bolt itself is an 8 mm and not difficult to locate the length of the threads is 20 mm and the thread itself is 1.25mm if memory serves me correctly.
The hard part is the sleeve, the one in the reverse on the plastic hood models like yours is slightly longer than the one for the older metal nozzle but I believe it could be used for a short time , you could replace the one in the reverse hood with a makeshift nylon or brass one etc just for the short time it takes for you to get a replacement, the nozzle collar part number is 90387-08m08-00 .
Hope this helps.
Hopefully this information is helpful and If someone worked on your boat I would strongly suggest you check the other bolts for the nozzles as a precaution if one did not have thread locking compound perhaps another one did not have any either..
A point of importance and why you should take this seriously is if you place the boat in reverse with the bottom bolt or top bolt missing , the force of the jet pump can easily snap off your nozzle when power is applied to the engine.

 

[Bill D]

That's the level of detail I knew @Cobra Jet Steering LLC could provide. Lol

 

[dan144k]

@rsg1963
Also be carefull not to overtighten. I stripped that bolt out on my boat, because it is just going into aluminum. Lock tight and then use caution not to overtighten.

You can remove the one from the other engine, and take those parts to the store to match them.

 

[rsg1963]

Well maybe I can help you out here, it really is not a bushing it is a sleeve that goes over the bolt , the nozzle actually pivots directly on that sleeve there are actually NO bushings Between the nozzle casting and that sleeve. The force of the water exiting the jet pump places a huge amount of force on that small 8mm bolt If the factory did not place thread locking compound or someone worked on the nozzle and removed and reinstalled that bolt it must have thread locking compound put back on it or the force of the nozzle turning will loosen it and it can easily fall out.
I know all about this because some of my steering systems utilize that bolt and I make sure people know to put thread locking compound on the new bolt when they install it.
I actually tell them several times in various places because if they don't use thread locking compound they are taking a very unnecessary chance of the bolt falling out.
Now the bolt itself is an 8 mm and not difficult to locate the length of the threads is 20 mm and the thread itself is 1.25mm if memory serves me correctly.
The hard part is the sleeve, the one in the reverse on the plastic hood models like yours is slightly longer than the one for the older metal nozzle but I believe it could be used for a short time , you could replace the one in the reverse hood with a makeshift nylon or brass one etc just for the short time it takes for you to get a replacement, the nozzle collar part number is 90387-08m08-00 .
Hope this helps.
Hopefully this information is helpful and If someone worked on your boat I would strongly suggest you check the other bolts for the nozzles as a precaution if one did not have thread locking compound perhaps another one did not have any either..
A point of importance and why you should take this seriously is if you place the boat in reverse with the bottom bolt or top bolt missing , the force of the jet pump can easily snap off your nozzle when power is applied to the engine.

Excellent info CJS, thank you. Turns out the housing is stripped. I found a bolt to fit and a nylon (temporary) sleeve, but when I went to install them, I discovered it was stripped. So now this is a warranty issue. Nobody has worked on that area. The closest anyone has come is me and a boat shop when we both installed your CJS product (2nd time was for an insurance claim after I was rear-ended on the road). Neither time needed that bolt to be touched. In the meantime, I placed a bolt all the way through with a nut at the other end to hold it together for the remaining part of the season.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

You are actually in luck I have a solution to that problem email me Jeff@cobrajetsteering.com

 

[Mainah]

I think @Bruce also has a bushing modification for this. It is on my list of things to do.

 

[Bruce]

My bushing solution is for the steering link.

I would take the top bushing and bolt to hardware stores and see if you can find a suitable replacement.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Plastic or nylon on the nozzle won't work either , you borrow one of the reverse bushings to use on the nozzle and make a plastic one for the reverse as long as you don't use it for a long time .

Also steal the opposite side of the reverse than what the fin is mounted on so you don't run into issues .