Steering chatter 08 Z1

[arohyans]

I think this is exactly what is going on, the prop starts to spin and the boat isn’t really moving much yet the individual waves of force from each prop blade are applied to the front of the rudder and effectively shake it back and forth like in your video and all the connection points in the system have a little play and it translates up to the wheel. As the water flow becomes faster and more consistent it stabilizes and no more shutter.

Not sure there is really a fix since there is no way to set the mesh between the gears or eliminate all the play all the way up. I bet replacing the rack will calm it down or stop it as the new rack gear will be less worn and mesh better, but I don’t think I’m willing to pay for that guess till it breaks, and the play will still be there in the rest of the system.

Maybe some sort of steering stabilizer on the tiller arm like a dirt bike has or a solid axle truck/Jeep has but on a smaller scale to stop the rudder from shaking before it starts. [emoji848]


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Actually, my steering cable/rack is brand new. Probably don’t have more than 2-3 hours on it. That’s what has me doing a double-take. My thought is that the previous cable was so seized that it absorbed the chatter/vibration. The new cable is super free and smooth, so the vibration translates further up to the wheel.


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[Dukejuno]

Actually, my steering cable/rack is brand new. Probably don’t have more than 2-3 hours on it. That’s what has me doing a double-take. My thought is that the previous cable was so seized that it absorbed the chatter/vibration. The new cable is super free and smooth, so the vibration translates further up to the wheel.


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Good to know, I guess I can knock that off the list of possible fixes. I agree with you also on the old cable damping the chatter.

I’m going to take a look at the rudder/cable/tiller arm connections when I make it back to the boat/lake the weekend after next to see if I find anything that needs tightening or adjustment.

I was researching last night and came across this for a Malibu, some were saying the weighted tiller arm was eliminating the chatter. It seems like a better/easier idea than my complicated steering damper idea, I may try to fashion something to test the theory when I make it back to the lake.




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[TigeFamily]

I really don't think anything is wrong....my boat has done this since new. The little bit of play all the way up that people are mentioning makes sense to me. Doesn't bother me that much, just an annoying sounds for a couple seconds, so in my mind...it is what it is. I do run heavily weighted, almost 5k lbs of ballast.

[talltigeguy]

I expected this thread to try to throw the blame on the prop. I have often heard that when the prop is a little out of balance, sometimes not enough to even see with the naked eye, that it can create chatter along the steering line through the rudder. It wouldn't take a whole lot of time to do a poor man's test and remove the prop, lay it on the ground and see if it lies flat. Or put your spare prop on and see if it stops the problem.

[Dukejuno]

I’ve only had the boat about a month so no spare prop yet, going to be changing out the 537 for a new 1433 at some point so I’ll see if that helps.


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[Dukejuno]

I really don't think anything is wrong....my boat has done this since new. The little bit of play all the way up that people are mentioning makes sense to me. Doesn't bother me that much, just an annoying sounds for a couple seconds, so in my mind...it is what it is. I do run heavily weighted, almost 5k lbs of ballast.

Thanks, after talking to everyone on here, I agree, it’s just a little annoying and if I can find a way to eliminate it I will, if not oh well.


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[freeheel4life]

Duke, if it is driving you crazy, just an idea. Pull the rack off and have a partner be your rudder buddy. Have some bearing grease in the boat with you. Have your partner move rudder from lock to lock slowly while greasing up rack gear bottom land (valleys) with a fair helping of lube. May quiet it down a bit. Would be sure to not go TOO crazy. May quiet it down a bit, may not. Just something cheap and easy to try....

[TigeFamily]

I’ve only had the boat about a month so no spare prop yet, going to be changing out the 537 for a new 1433 at some point so I’ll see if that helps.


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I have had 3 different props on my boat, so I am gonna have to say that likely won't stop it, tho depending on prop it may change or decrease.
1433 is my favorite prop on my boat, also run an 1847 which is same size, just slightly different cup.

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[gtrub]

Did anyone find root cause and fix of the chatter under steering wheel? Here is my link to my sound: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gnS...w?usp=drivesdk

[Rumbo09]

I had something similar on my second trip out in mine. Maybe it was more of a vibration in the steering wheel, and only when weighted down. I just figured it was because we were pushing so much weight with so much torque. Then while surfing we lost all propulsion, felt like the prop fell off. Ended up that we sheared all the bolts on the coupler of our vdrive which resulted in having to replace the vdrive. Fortunately it was repaired under warranty. The dealer ended up finding that a couple of the motor mounts were loose. Not sure if they loosened up from the vibration as the coupler was falling apart or if the coupler failed because the motor mounts were loose causing either a misalignment or a vibration. Or something else completely unrelated. We bought our boat used 09/2022 with 180 hours and it’s a 2019, maybe the previous owner did something, or failed to maintain something, I don’t know. The dealer also told us that the coupler was not made for our setup, 575 Raptor in a 25’ boat with 4800 lbs of ballast. He said we have an 6 bolt coupler and that this was a common failure point so in 2020 or 2021 Indmar upgraded the coupler that’s paired with the 575 to a 10 bolt setup. Either way, I would suggest checking motor mounts, shaft alignment, and making sure you don’t have any loose or missing bolts in your coupler.