Blain Nelson wrote:

> I have a relatively new boat (6 months old) with a 5.7L Mercruiser with
> power steering. The P/S pump pulley is made out of a Bakelite material
> (i.e. not metal). Yesterday the pulley essentially ripped out from the
> inside and completely broke apart. The P/S pump shaft is still loose and
> not binding. Has anyone else experienced this with the non-metal pulleys?
> Any possible preventable cause or is it probably just a bad part?

> Blain Nelson

Considering the age of this unit, I'm guessing it probably uses the
serpentine belt set up. {although it doesn't really matter} After you
take it back for warranty repair, check two things. Belt tension is the
obvious first. The second is to check to see if the steering has full
travel side to side without stalling the ps pump when held in a full
turn. The steering arm itself could be contacting the transom cutout, or
the steering cable attachment at the transom plate could be binding or
hitting something in the engine room, causing the cable, itself, to
activate the control valve mounted to the transom plate. Either way the
dealership needs to correct this problem to prevent this from happening
again. Also check the ps lines for kinks or excessively tight clamps and
wire ties. Of course when you make a couple a hundred of any part, your
gonna get a bad egg or two. Good luck....

Update:
There was a replacement part number change and service bulletin from Mercruiser... soon after I wrote this reply... the plastic power steering pulleys were replaced with metal ones...