Steering Advice.

[rakinray]

G/ day all heres one for the tech" Boys " :-? The steering on my boat has always been tight (need two hands to turn) and i just thought it was supposed to be that way, till my brother took over the other day while headin out for a fish and commented that he had the same type steering on his last boat and said he could turn the wheel with only one hand ! So my questions are, what do i do to make it this way ? I have pumped grease into the nipple at the motor end under the cowling, i disconnected it from the motor end and the motor was very free, i also squirted inox into the push/pull attachment at the motor end. It has a large black pipe coming from the steering wheel end that runs thru to the push/pull end. I presume it has a cable of some sort in it and wonder if it might need some type of lubrication ;D The only other thing i done was disconnected the nut of the black pipe, at the cast housing behind the wheel, which i put back on when all i could see was a pig tail spring running from it to the black pipe. Any helpful info would be greatfully recieved as i like to at least have a go at fixing most problems that seem to be part of owning a boat (Bring Out Another Thousound).

CHEERS RAY PS heres some pics of the set up

[rakinray]

Rear cable in.

[rakinray]

Rear Push/Pull.

[rakinray]

Last one behind the steering wheel.

[BaysideMarine]

Hi Ray,

Disconnect the nut that holds the draglink (the short bent rod that bolts to the front of the engine to steer it) to the steering cable and pull the draglink free of the steering cable.

Now, the engine should swing freely back and forth. If not, then there is corrosion on the pivot shaft (through the swivel bracket that mounts the engine) and you will need oxy or a blowtorch to free it up. If its free then the problem is in the steering system.

With the draglink disconnected turn the steering wheel and see how it feels.

The usual problem is the steering cable builds up with gunk and goes tight. You can pull them apart and clean them up but its more cost effective (from a business perspective) to replace the cable.

You also need to check the steering tube (where the cable goes through at the front of the engine). The cable should pass freely through the tube and not bind anywhere.

By the looks of your pics it will be engine off to remove your steering cable (as it tends to be with most boat/engine setups).

Cheers,

Nicholas

[nelton87]

Ray,
My understanding is that these types of cables should only be oiled if you put grease into the nipple it will eventually sieze, I have seen many with this problem the only way I have seen it repaired is to replace it with a new cable.
Cheers
nelton

[rakinray]

G/ day again thnx for the tips seems like its going to be a new cable but the way you guys put it is that i have to take the motor off to do it is this right ?

CHEERS RAY :)

[BaysideMarine]

Yes engine off to replace cable...........But do the tests I said first before buying a cable and removing engine.

You can pull the inner out of the outer of the steering cable and clean it out and it will work again although the inner does actually wear the sheath around it which will produce more slack in the system.

So, engine off (4 bolts), cable out, new cable in, engine back on and dont forget to sikaflex the holes.

If you really went at it with a spare pair of hands you could be done inside of 10 minutes, but thats really moving at pit crew speeds.
Cheers

[Cheech]

Ray,

I have the same system and also had the same problem. Took me ages to realise it was not actually mechanical, it was mental. I did not have the motor trimmed corectly. If it is free when on the trailer and tight when under way, try trimming up more. With my boat there is a sweet spot at 90 degrees to the horizontal. Get it there and the steering is easy. Below that and the steering is hard. I also get better speed and economy now that I trim correctly.

Cheech

[rakinray]

G/ day again i think a new cable will do the trick, Craig it is stiff even on the trailer or in the water i just dissconnected the steering from the engine and it moves very free so i think its in the cable i will try the wheel when i have it off to see if it is still stiff but i think its a stupid design when you have to remove the whole engine just to fix a sreering problem >:(

CHEERS RAY PS ill keep you posted.

[Bowser]

Ray, you don't always have to remove the motor, but looking at the bend in your cable from the hole in the engine well to the tube you probably will have to. It is the only way you will get the angle right to pull the push pull rod through the tube. Unless you have the motor crane may be easier to get a mechanic to do it for you.

[stevedemon]

Hi ray
try oiling your steer rod with gear box oil not grease, as grease intends to harden, place oil on rod then work the motor side to side keep the oil to it while working motor, this will free it up and stay free, also discount cable at steering wheel housing place a little bit of oil down cable while working motor will free whole cable, but it is more likely that the grease on motor end rod has harden had the same trouble till my mechanic and a friend informed me the best way to kept cables free.

Hope this helps

Cheers ;D ;D
Steve

[akman1]

With my setup,same system as yours,I found that the bush behind the steering wheel was almost siezed up.You need to remove the steering wheel and the 3bolts that hold the shaft behind steering wheel as per your pic,if its tight you may have to tap it out and clean the shaft and bushing with emery.
Made a world of difference as I was told to get a new cable,just something else to check before spending heaps of dough :)

[wacco_fozzy]

To my horror, I too had a siezed steering assembly when I went to take the expensive garden ornament out on Saturday after a break of about 4 months. Thanks to threads like this one, I've managed to get the steering back to a nice smooth action.

I've been pumping Inox grease into the nipple on the motor sleeve until I see fresh grease ooze out of the joint between the motor mount and the rotating sleeve. If oiling up the assembly rather than greasing it is the way to go, has anyone ever fitted an automatic oiler in place of the grease nipple?

If there's enough gap to see grease come out, I imagine that oil wouldn't stay in there for long, but I'd love to know how to keep the fitting well lubricated without having to oil the rod etc after every trip.

Any clues would be appreciated.