Full hydraulic steering

[69hondo]

Bringing this up again as I cant find where we talked about it in the past.
Full hydraulic or just assist?
I am thinking full hydraulic and this deal from CP.

Mayfair Single Bravo/Dual Ram Full Hydraulic Steering Kit - CP Performance

Mayfair Single Bravo/Dual Ram Full Hydraulic Steering Kit

www.cpperformance.com

There are no install directions on the info page. Does this just get tied into the stock power steering pump on the engine? if so how?
I know the assist one gets tapped into the steering ram via the "brazil" valve but how does the full hydraulic to the helm get tied it.

 

[McKay]

Bringing this up again as I cant find where we talked about it in the past.
Full hydraulic or just assist?
I am thinking full hydraulic and this deal from CP.

Mayfair Single Bravo/Dual Ram Full Hydraulic Steering Kit - CP Performance

Mayfair Single Bravo/Dual Ram Full Hydraulic Steering Kit

www.cpperformance.com

There are no install directions on the info page. Does this just get tied into the stock power steering pump on the engine? if so how?
I know the assist one gets tapped into the steering ram via the "brazil" valve but how does the full hydraulic to the helm get tied it.

I’ve done the imco full stearing a couple of times. If you call them and tell them your boat model you will get all the hoses premade to the correct length for your boat. 4 hoses will go to the new helm unit and all the fittings needed to connect to the stock pump. Pretty simple install.

 

[TimeBandit]

Have them email you the installation instructions.

 

[Deano]

Bringing this up again as I cant find where we talked about it in the past.
Full hydraulic or just assist?
I am thinking full hydraulic and this deal from CP.

Mayfair Single Bravo/Dual Ram Full Hydraulic Steering Kit - CP Performance

Mayfair Single Bravo/Dual Ram Full Hydraulic Steering Kit

www.cpperformance.com

There are no install directions on the info page. Does this just get tied into the stock power steering pump on the engine? if so how?
I know the assist one gets tapped into the steering ram via the "brazil" valve but how does the full hydraulic to the helm get tied it.

It ties directly into your power steering pump. Runs through the helm to the rams. Full hydraulic is the way to go.

 

[pkrrvr619]

It ties directly into your power steering pump. Runs through the helm to the rams. Full hydraulic is the way to go.

What’s the difference between the two?

 

[McKay]

What’s the difference between the two?

Full hydraulic is all the way to helm. Half hydraulic still uses a morse cable to the helm.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

Don’t do hydraulic assist. I’ve had it, and it sucks. Go full hydraulic and be done with it.

 

[dezrtracer]

Full hydraulic to the helm from IMHO is the route I went , even run a hydraulic fluid cooler . It works flawless . Edit : I also bought the transom assembly from IMHO too .

 

[Fastdadtsmith]

We did the Imco one on our Fundeck beginning of last summer, had a couple of hiccups with leaky fittings as the clearance under the dash was a challenge. Once resolved we're kicking ourselves for not doing it sooner.

 

[MR HARLEY]

Full hydraulics is what you seek.

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

Another for full hydro its awesome!

 

[69hondo]

We did the Imco one on our Fundeck beginning of last summer, had a couple of hiccups with leaky fittings as the clearance under the dash was a challenge. Once resolved we're kicking ourselves for not doing it sooner.

What did the kit cost you from imco. I don’tsee pricing on their website

 

[Fastdadtsmith]

I had Havasu Marine Specialties do it, traded for some AC work, if I remember right it was around a $3500 swap. I believe he had around 8 hours of labor in it, so parts should have been in the $2700 neighborhood.

 

[Howardflat]

One thing to check is if you have room on the back of your boat. Some boats have exhaust tips or swim steps in the way of where the ram would be located. All would be costly to move to make room for the steering.

 

[69hondo]

I had Havasu Marine Specialties do it, traded for some AC work, if I remember right it was around a $3500 swap. I believe he had around 8 hours of labor in it, so parts should have been in the $2700 neighborhood.

I sent Imco an email. thanks

 

[Bigbore500r]

@69hondo make sure you have room on transom for proper placement of the rams. If they can't go where they need to be, they will limit your overall steering and turning radius will suck. Just something to watch for

 

[shunter2005]

I converted my 270 from cable steering to hydraulic assist which was much better than cable only. Took it to Shlbyntro, who did the hydraulic assist conversion, while doing outdrive service on it for me. Yeah, I'll admit it. I was scared shitless to drill holes in the transom!!! I found a used single IMCO ram, thru-transom fitting, outdrive end cap and brazil valve from a person here for $800-$900. Used hoses were old and starting to crack, so I had some new 20" inside/outside SS hoses made for $200.

After all that, I decided to do what I should have done in the first place. Convert it to full hydraulic steering. The new hydraulic helm, SS tilt helm post (by far the most expensive part I purchased new), hoses and filter were just under $2K. Also, splurged for a new Isotta steering wheel just for a nicer look.

Call the IMCO shop in Henderson, they can tell you exactly what you need and what it will cost. They like the green stuff, which is good for you.

 

[69hondo]

One thing to check is if you have room on the back of your boat. Some boats have exhaust tips or swim steps in the way of where the ram would be located. All would be costly to move to make room for the steering.

Yeah they provide quite a few different dimension lengths for this problem. I have checked a few measurements and looks like it shouldn't be a problem.

@69hondo make sure you have room on transom for proper placement of the rams. If they can't go where they need to be, they will limit your overall steering and turning radius will suck. Just something to watch for

 

[farmo83]

I had to Do the integrated gimbal as well. It's nice but pricey.

 

[69hondo]

Quote from Imco was $$$6500

 

[Howardflat]

It's worth it. Especially if your boat is faster then 65mph. It becomes added safety. Plus driving with it is so nice.

 

[69hondo]

So the kit from Imco is 3k more than the one from CP performance. Is the Imco worth that much more?

 

[Fastdadtsmith]

This is for your Fundeck, correct? I know we didn't spend that much.

 

[ramos45]

+1 for the mayfair kit. I installed the dual version, pretty straight forward and should come with instructions in a folder (mine did). It ties directly into your PS pump and you cut the hoses to length and install the fittings. The scariest part is drilling through transom, measure 10 times and drill once! I had it installed i think 6 years before selling boat, had zero issues and was way better than the ram anything. You'll get wet when bleeding the system for first time.

 

[69hondo]

This is for your Fundeck, correct? I know we didn't spend that much.

Yeah for the Fundeck. That's just the parts price, not even installed.

 

[69hondo]

+1 for the mayfair kit. I installed the dual version, pretty straight forward and should come with instructions in a folder (mine did). It ties directly into your PS pump and you cut the hoses to length and install the fittings. The scariest part is drilling through transom, measure 10 times and drill once! I had it installed i think 6 years before selling boat, had zero issues and was way better than the ram anything. You'll get wet when bleeding the system for first time.

Awesome, thank you

 

[02HoWaRd26]

Bringing this up again as I cant find where we talked about it in the past.
Full hydraulic or just assist?
I am thinking full hydraulic and this deal from CP.

Mayfair Single Bravo/Dual Ram Full Hydraulic Steering Kit - CP Performance

Mayfair Single Bravo/Dual Ram Full Hydraulic Steering Kit

www.cpperformance.com

There are no install directions on the info page. Does this just get tied into the stock power steering pump on the engine? if so how?
I know the assist one gets tapped into the steering ram via the "brazil" valve but how does the full hydraulic to the helm get tied it.

When i did it on a prior boat, i bought everything direct from IMCO NV, showed up got everything at once, lot better deal that way.
I had power assist already, removed everything off the inner transom, back tracked hose from Brazil valve and utilized that for my feed, then went to town. With bleeding and all, i spent probably 6 hours but wasn’t rushing as well ran everything tight and clean. Can be done faster but…. Was real simple ultimately.

 

[shunter2005]

Quote from Imco was $$$6500

Holy crap!! What parts did they quote on? Just curious..

If you are not in a hurry, I would definitely look around and ask around for any used parts that are available from RDP'ers. Regarless of brand you can find stuff here and other boat forums pretty reasonable. I'm an IMCO guy through and through, but dang that's a lot of cash.

 

[69hondo]

Holy crap!! What parts did they quote on? Just curious..

If you are not in a hurry, I would definitely look around and ask around for any used parts that are available from RDP'ers. Regarless of brand you can find stuff here and other boat forums pretty reasonable. I'm an IMCO guy through and through, but dang that's a lot of cash.

the dual ram SA-2 steer kit. Their hose HK-2, helm control HC-2 and helm post HP-14

 

[shunter2005]

the dual ram SA-2 steer kit. Their hose HK-2, helm control HC-2 and helm post HP-14

That will be a nice kit. IMCO stuff is high quality, for sure. I'm just not sure if it's $3K nicer than a Mayfair kit. I recently saw a nice used twin ram Mayfair setup on another forum. I'll see if I can find it and if it's still available. Maybe it will give you some comparison, cost wise.

 

[69hondo]

That will be a nice kit. IMCO stuff is high quality, for sure. I'm just not sure if it's $3K nicer than a Mayfair kit. I recently saw a nice used twin ram Mayfair setup on another forum. I'll see if I can find it and if it's still available. Maybe it will give you some comparison, cost wise.

Thanks, that would be great.

 

[pkrrvr619]

When i did it on a prior boat, i bought everything direct from IMCO NV, showed up got everything at once, lot better deal that way.

I had power assist already, removed everything off the inner transom, back tracked hose from Brazil valve and utilized that for my feed, then went to town. With bleeding and all, i spent probably 6 hours but wasn’t rushing as well ran everything tight and clean. Can be done faster but…. Was real simple ultimatel

What did you add to the system that had assist?

 

[02HoWaRd26]

When i did it on a prior boat, i bought everything direct from IMCO NV, showed up got everything at once, lot better deal that way.


What did you add to the system that had assist?

Made it full hydraulic. Helm back, left the boat single ram tho, Ron explained how it’s unnecessary to run two unless just the cosmetic. Even showed me a 35+’ v that was twins tan off one ram, work amazing and wasn’t bad at all to install.
The feel was so absolutely better and almost no tracking at idle speeds vs prior with cable.

 

[69hondo]

Made it full hydraulic. Helm back, left the boat single ram tho, Ron explained how it’s unnecessary to run two unless just the cosmetic. Even showed me a 35+’ v that was twins tan off one ram, work amazing and wasn’t bad at all to install.
The feel was so absolutely better and almost no tracking at idle speeds vs prior with cable.

I was wondering if two rams were necessary.

 

[02HoWaRd26]

I was wondering if two rams were necessary.