What's with my steering ?

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

dear boating gurus,

meant to post this 2 weeks ago.

I have a top ender with 50hp Mercury & remote steering - not hydraulic.

My problem is...

On the stiff rod connected to the motor that pushes & pulls the motor back & forth I have noticed what appears to be rust residue comming from inside the chamber that rod slides into. That rod itself is fine - it seems to be stainless.

When the motor sits - it sticks a little in the position it was in whilst sitting. Once you get it moving its alright although seems a touch dry (makes a dry sound ifthat makes sense)

my question ...

What is rusting & why?

What maintenance am I neglecting? As i am largely responsible for the water shortage on the eastern seaboard from when I clean my boat after a trip & it is housed inside the garage (i'd have it in the bedroom but the doors not big enough).


any help / advice would be appreciated,

[smiley=help.gif] chris

[dnej]

Spray some CRC or better yet , some automatic transmission oil onto the arm, while moving the motor from side to side. Then wipe off the rust and repeat the process. You can move the motor by hand and the steering wheel will move also. Do this each time you walk past your motor, and leave the stainless rod in the closed position.
You wont stop the rusty fluid coming out, but this way the steering works great. Do ,repeat do not use grease or Lanolin, as this will make it worse
David

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

i'll give it a go - did try grease ??? but very little got in due to the tolerances

what's rusting dave - do you know

[dnej]

I have asked this question myself, but havent yet got an answer. One day, I will tap the side of the large nut, where the cable gets connected, and screw in a small pipe fitting,and reservoir,so that I can have transmission fluid to that area all the time.
Was a time when you could buy such a unit
Regards David
PS when I got my boat 3 years ago, I could hardly move the steering, but by constantly working in the ATM fluid, and moving the motor each time I went past ,the steering is great.

[blaze]

hi
the rust comes from the pivot tube of the outboard, the fix is to undo the big nut and disconnect the linkages on the other side and withdraw the unit. You may have to unbolt the outboard to enable the tube to come out completely. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BEND THE ROD WHICH GOES THROUGH THE TUBE. Once removed you then need to clean the tube on the outboard. To do this I use a piece of plastic air line tube (10mm dia x 300mm long) and cut a slot in the end about 40mm deep, you then need to get some emery cloth and put in the slot and then wrap tightly around the plastic air line tube until it is slightly smaller than the pivot tube, then attach the other end to a drill (making sure the drill rotates the right direction) then go to work, put the emery cloth end into the pivot tube and start drill working the rod in and out of the pivot tube
Works a treat and probablely should be done annually, the apply copius amounts of grease and reassemble
I know this is as clear as mud
cheers
blaze

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

no blaze, fair desciption, sounds like fun though, sounds a bit like a video I saw on the internet the other night at a mates place & .... (oh, you don't need to hear that)

thanks for the help guys - i am relieved it seems "normal" though you've gotta wonder why a corosion resistant part isn't used - does the blue band have that?

chris

[blaze]

LMAO
why would you make some thing that doesnt wear out or rust then there would be no SPARE PARTS and that is where the dealers make the real money
cheers
blaze

[Morlers]

Dnej, you wrote
"Do ,repeat do not use grease or Lanolin, as this will make it worse"

Can you tell us why Lanolin (as in 'Lanox' or similar) is not suitable?

Thanks

:) :)
Morlers

[Cloud_9]

grease dries out and becomes sticky
i know that from new there is grease in the tube but once the rust starts to form grease will make it wurse. i use inox spray every time i finish wash down. inox dispurses the water out of the tube. and lubes at same time.
my tilt tube has o ring seal on the end where the push ram comes out not all dealers fit these when the motor is fitted new. if you have time to clean out the tilt tube so no rust left in the tube, hown out if you need to, treat with some rust preventitive, think kitten make 1 thats an epoxy, can be apllied with small spunge roller pulled through the tube , let dry and lube with some non drying lite grease and fit seal on the end of your tilt tube. or just replace the tube. damn thing should be stainless but the alloy doesnt like it too mutch.

Cheers Cloud 9

[smerl]

Blaze,

If you perform the procedure as you described and use light machine oil to lubricate afterwards, not grease, I reckon that you will no longer need to do it every year. The grease encourages dirt etc to stick to the push rod and then it gets drawn back into the tube, which really gums things up. I pulled mine apart on a 50 HP Johnson when I first got the boat about 3 years ago and never had any problems since. I think the stuff that looks like rust is actually grease/oil mixed with dirt and water. The Johnson also has an oil nipple (not a grease nipple) fitted to the tilt tube so you can oil it from time to time with out dissasembling. Probably work fitting one of these if they are not sandard on the motor.

Cheers,

Smerl

[dnej]

Smerl, that was what I was talking about,but connected to a small reservoir, that holds the transmission ( or power steering oil)
Morlers, the other posts have now answered your question. Also when you buy a new cable, hang it up full length for a couple of weeks , preferable in the sun, to get rid of the grease inside.
Everybody, just wait till you start using the power steering oil.Works a treat.
Wonder what soluable oil would be like, as it collects the water that causes the rust, and is a rust inhibitor. Must try it.
Regards David

[Kerry]

Anything that looks like grease, feels like grease, behaves like grease is out and doesn't belong anywhere near a steering cable. Grease and water in a close contact situation like this simply forms a crud, which almost set like concrete especially when not used for some time.

ATF, CRC, WDF etc but NO grease

Cheers, Kerry.

[dnej]

Hey Kerry , have you heard anything of the guy that had the Steer Easy attachment.Have not seen any adds for 18 months
David

[Kerry]

No, haven't seen anything from them in quite some time and I have the impression they are no longer in business? Maybe a steering cable maker bought them out ;D

Not all that difficult to make really.

Cheers, Kerry.