Cable Steering Question?

[svranjic]

This is prolly a stupid question which has a very simple answer

I got cable steering in my runabout I think its teleflex setup. It turns more one way than it does the other

ie when i turn left the outboard moves to full lock, when i turn right the outboard doesnt move much to the right......

Is there any way I can adjust this?

Cheers

[Spaniard_King]

Does it feel like it slips something when it doesnt move much?

May need to replace the helm

[Noelm]

there is a couple of reasons why this can happen, first off, it may not have been installed with the cable in the "centre" of its travel and the Motor pointing straight ahead (by for the most common reason) very hard to explain, but remember that the wheel has (say) 4 turns from stop to stop, if it was turned 3 turns one way and the motor attached, it only leaves one turn one way, but 3 the other, get the idea? you may need to dismantle the whole thing, set the helm end of the cable in the centre of its exposed length, reassemble and and attach the motor then, I know it sort of sounds odd, but it does happen.

[Noelm]

OH, and of course it is all dependant on how it is attached at the Motor end, as in tilt tube, or a splash well "thingy"

[svranjic]

Its attached via tilt tube

I noticed the wheel turns lock to lock 2 turns......... so there must be a prob somewhere.

Doesnt seem to be slipping at helm.

Sigh I spent way too much on this boat, ppl want money for nothin these days.

Ide put a hydraulic kit in but at $900 I dunno, I spent $6500 on the boat.

its almost as though the bar that goes through the steering tube isnt moving out as far as it should.

Il have to take it apart. Yet another prob to fix -_-

[griz066]

Ahhhh welcome to the world of boating.........I know its an oldie but you do realise B O A T stands for Bring Out Another Thousand;D;D;D;D;D

[dnej]

I would say Noelm is close to the mark.
when you are outside the boat,grab a hold of the motor,and swing it firstly one way, than the other, what happens?

Is the movement the same?
Or does it appear to be less movement in one direction.
David

[BM]

G'day,

When steering lock-to-lock is uneven its rectified usually by replacing the draglink.

The draglink is the 'bent' rod that runs from the end of the steering cable (the stainless rod sticking out the port side of the tilt tube with flats on the end of it and a hole drilled through it) to the front of the engine (known as the tiller arm).

Changing the tiller arm position (usually 1-3 positions on the tiller arm) changes the range of motion of the steering, by moving the draglink closer to (or further from) the pivot point. This change will affect travel in both directions uniformly so is unlikely your problem.

Changing the length of the draglink changes the relative positioning of the engine/steering system.

Unbolt the typically 9/16 (14mm) lock nut on the underside of the draglink to steering cable connection and remove the draglink from the steering cable end. Watch for washers either side of the steering cable.

Position the engine dead ahead.

With an assistants help, determine the lock to lock travel (make sure the draglink doesnt catch on anything) and position the steering wheel at the centre of the lock to lock.

Your draglink needs to fit from the steering cable end to the dead ahead engine position. Does it?

cheers

[svranjic]

Cheers for all the replies!

BM I did as you recommended and disconnected the drag link and had the engine lined up dead straight, I then lined up the steering wheel in centre.

No the draglink does not fit from the steering cable end to the dead ahead motor position It is a fair bit off. The drag link is bolted to the first tiller arm position closest to the motor, There are two tiller arm positions on my outboard.

When I moved the tiller arm to the outer position it becomes much closer to reaching the draglink at dead centre.... However it is still off a bit but a hell of alot better than it was before.

How do I go about fixing this?

Cheers Again!

[BM]

Work out how much shorter or longer your draglink needs to be and make enquiries with the dealer of your engine make for a replacement of suitable length.

In the past there used to be adjustable length draglinks on the market which were perfect for sorting problems such as these.

But the passage of time seems to make us sillier as a society and things that work well and solve problems get pushed aside by one size fits all, that doesn't......

Cheers

[Bowser]

Go back to the beginning. Disconnect the engine, pull the cable out of the tilt tube and then under the retaing bolts on the helm and wind the cable out fully. Then you can go theough th eproceedure of installing it again. before you do, check the range of movement of the engine. Ensure that it isn't hitting anything and is able to move through i's full range. Most cable steering is between 3.5 and 4 turns lock to lock. You can feed the cable back into the helm and work out how many turns it goes through, then half it. You need to be able to get the wheel to centre, so now you know haw many turns it is to lock, you unfeed the cable, set the wheel to the position it will be at full lock and refeed the cable. Once this is done refeed the cable through the tilt tube and connect it up to the tiller.

I would be concerned about your 2 turns lock to lock. It sounds as if there is an obstruction somewhere either with the motor or the cable or the cable is damaged.

[BM]

Svranjic,

There is no need to worry about re-feeding the cable into the helm as it won't assist you. With the cable out of the helm the helm will freewheel. It has no "stops" in it.

Most helms are equipped with 2 positions in which to fit the steering wheel to give you options to get the wheel straight.

If a straight wheel was of importance to you you could move the entire tilt tube in the required direction to alter the steering centre position. Or I guess you could keep refitting the cable to the helm and attempt to move the wheel a few degrees at a time to slightly alter the final locked in position of the cable which will of course slightly alter the steering wheel positioning.

However, in practice I have found its far simpler to fit a symetrical steering wheel. This way, when the steering is centre the wheel is the same if its upside down or 20 degrees to port etc etc Crooked steering wheel?? What crooked steering wheel! :)

Not a dodgy fix but a smart fix because wind and tide etc etc all affect the boats running so having a non symetrical wheel straight is going to be a problem.

cheers

[svranjic]

I will have a look at getting an appropriate tiller arm that fits

I tried messing round with steering wheel alignment makes no diff like u said BM

It does seem strange that its only 2 turns lock to lock on the helm...... However the boat does have a very small engine well, if it turned 3 turns lock to lock I guess the draglink arm would hit the side of the engine well?
Not sure, either way the tiller arm doesnt reach the drag link at dead centre thus the difference in steering from port to starboard.
The outboard swings easily either side when disconnected from the tiller arm so no probs there.
Still dunno bout the 2 turns lock to lock?

I wanna put hydraulic in but funds wont permit. I got holes in my pocket! :-/

Cheers Again!

[Bowser]

Sounds like the problem is the engine well. Is the end of the drag link hitting the side of the engine well? If it is the hydraulics probably wont fit either. You will need to look at the design and maybe extend the space by having a tube welded or glued into it to allow the arm to fully extend.