I/O steering OMC

[olsluggo]

I am thinking of buying a used boat,1987 Imp 22ft,i/o,according to the owner it has a 305 v-8 GM engine.The boat has lost its steering and I have never seen this type of cable steering.The steering cable is about 3/16th.in diameter and runs back to a pully at the rear of the engine and turns a shaft in the outdrive.From my discription does anyone know what type of steering this is.The owner doesn,t know,he told me it was a Mercruiser,the shifter says OMC and the gas filter says OMC.The transom has a large hole with a rubber boot unlike a Merc.I do not want to buy something that is a big problem.Thanks

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: I/O steering OMC

I would not buy it unless it was cheap....I mean REAL CHEAP! ....JK

 

[Bondo]

Re: I/O steering OMC

Get Away from That Boat,+ It's Owner..........<br />

I do not want to buy something that is a big problem.Thanks

Big Problem,..???. ... Big Problem,...??.. .....<br /><br />That's an Old OMC Stringer Drive,...........<br /><br />No Factory Support(actually just No factory),...... No Techs will work on them ,...... <br />Few Parts are available,+ Those that Are, are Expen$ive..... <br /><br />Ayuh,......<br />The Only Way that boat could be a Bigger Problem,........ Is if it said Bilgeliner on it, instead of IMP..........<br /><br /><br />Run,...... Run Just as Fast as you Can, Away from That Boat,+ the Owner....................

 

[whywhyzed]

Re: I/O steering OMC

The last year that drive was made was 1985, so the seller is telling you the wrong year...

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: I/O steering OMC

Worst possible purchase you can make,cable probably unavailable.<br /><br />No doubt this is an OMC stringer drive since you have that rubber boot.Mercruiser never did this.<br /><br />Omc had stringer drives for years,but in 1986 started with the Cobra.Imp and a few other boat makers had stringer drives left in stock,hence your 1987 year Imp.<br /><br />Bombardier puchased OMC,doesn't support the Cobra,so this should tell you where anyone with a stringer drive stands.(or floats)<br /><br />DHP

 

[olsluggo]

Re: I/O steering OMC

Thanks for the information.It is cheap,$1500 but it looked too complicated I will stay with Mercruisers.

 

[Bondo]

Re: I/O steering OMC

Originally posted by olsluggo:<br /> Thanks for the information.It is cheap,$1500 but it looked too complicated I will stay with Mercruisers.

That's about $1499.99 More than it Worth.........

 

[rodbolt]

Re: I/O steering OMC

actually OMC stendrives were done in about the 95 time frame. some years before OMC went belly up. volvo bought out the sterndrive part about 95 or so and the first thing they dropped support on was stringer units and they barely supported cobra units now they wont at all. and while the twin cable rack and pinion steering was a bit quirky its way better than that through transom cable setup.

 

[DukesFin]

Re: I/O steering OMC

You can find plenty of the steering cable sets online. Just do a search on OMC Stringer Parts. You will find one. Not as complicated as they are telling you either. Just tedious. If you have the shop manual, it makes it that much easier. There are also plenty of parts for this outdrive still to be had for now and yes, some are expensive, but many are not. I've bookmarked many web pages that have plenty of parts for my Stringer.<br /><br />I have to admit that I do have a very OLD Stringer, (1973), but I like mine. I would probably be better off with a newer outdrive/transom/motor, but for what I paid to get mine, I'm very happy. The way this thing is constructed reminds me of the difference between an old Volkswagon air cooled 4cyl. engine and a new Vortec V-8. The V-8 is surely a better/newer/stronger motor, but that Volkswagon engine can be so easy to diagnose and fix. <br /><br />I'd just weigh how mechanically inclined you are.<br /><br />I'm not saying you should buy or run from the boat, but from a current Stringer owner, I'm happy with mine. <br /><br />Good luck!

 

[Kim1349]

Re: I/O steering OMC

To revive a long dormant thread;

How do you remove replace the engine side of the cables. I got one, actually have two of the old boats with these drives. Works fine. This one when I got it some ()**&& had wound the cables the wrong way on the pulley at the engine. They replaced the boot and did that. Not sure why it had to come out unless they put different cables in at the same time. Anyway, it turns left when you turn the wheel right and visa-versa.. I have the I/O off, see the c-clip on the gear but am not sure where to go next. Any comments please?
Sparks

 

[bruceb58]

Re: I/O steering OMC

Probably best to start a new thread. Most people will read the first few posts and never get down to yours.