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I went ahead and installed the seal kit and then reinstalled the front mount assembly, bled the system and after turning the engine from port to starboard about 219 times, the steering system showed no signs of slipping, weird noises, etc. So I'm going to go ahead and do my water test with this system. Hope to water test the old boat at the end of the month. If it passes muster, I'll put replacing the steering system at the top of the list for winter projects.

Appreciate all the advice.

John