Cable is froze up, very common.

 

Hydraulic or NFB?

 

What is NFB ?

This is the cylinder where I grease it once a year as recommended. Grease was pumped in at point (4) and with the piston retracted all the way in.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/RedberetUSA/Steering.jpg"[/URL] border="0" alt=" photo Steering.jpg"/></a>[/IMG]

 

Disconnect linkage to determine if its the cable or the motor pivot.

 

There is a motor to power the steering? Where is the motor located at?

 

Disconnect the linkage that connects the end of the steering cable to the bar on the front of the outboard. If the outboard can then be moved back and forth then the outboard motor pivot is fine. And your cable is frozen.

 

Grease fitting you are pointing to (4) only greases the engine steering tube on the outside so the engine can tilt, nothing to do with the steering cable that is froze inside the tube. You may be able to tap on the end of the cable to free it, remove the cable from the engine, clean the tube and cable then reinstall it. The cable has to be manually greased.

 

Usually you have to go turn the wheel back and forth at least once a month during storage. I do this during the winter months because I've had the same problem with mine getting stuck. It's prob the cable inside the cable tube that goes from the steering wheel to the linkage at the motor. If they are not moved every so often they will gum up and get stuck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Previous thread on the topic
Steering Cable/Rod Maintenance

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...mbforum/showthread.php?t=1312546&share_tid=1312546&share_fid=13337&share_type=t

 

if the plastic casing on the cable has cracks in it soak the heck out of it with knock it loose and let it soak a day or two

 

That grease zert is for the tilt tube, it does NOT grease the cable.

Which you should NEVER EVER put grease on a steering cable, it will cake up and bind. Lithium, penetrating oil, silicone, but never grease.

Spray penetrating oil into the tube, and see if you can get it loose, then lube, wipe, lube wipe until it's free and like new.

 

That grease zert is for the tilt tube, it does NOT grease the cable.

Which you should NEVER EVER put grease on a steering cable, it will cake up and bind. Lithium, penetrating oil, silicone, but never grease.

Spray penetrating oil into the tube, and see if you can get it loose, then lube, wipe, lube wipe until it's free and like new.

^^this
After you get it free, put "replace steering cable" on project list.

 

Thanks, guys, for all the tips and advice.
I'll get on it and let you know how the shade tree mechanic ME fix it.....

 

Here's a couple of links you may find helpful.

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=1651146&highlight=steering+wheel

 

djwag94,
Thanks for the link. That is very helpful. I am going to tackle this one this coming weekend. Dang it, I spend more time working on the boat than actually using it....

 

It's usually the steering rod stuck in the tube and not the cable. If you don't use the boat a lot, then always leave the steering turned the other way at least some. That way you can have someone at the helm applying pressure to the wheel as you tap the rod with a hammer. ALWAYS use a piece of 2x4 between the hammer and the rod.

 

I sure learned a new routine maintenance to do with this experience. From now on it will be an annual action item to take it off the tube to clean and lube it.

One thought I'd like to put out for discussion is the grease zerk on the tilt tube. If grease may turn into a binder inside the tube, is it better to shoot some heavy weight oil instead of grease into that zerk? that may alleviate the steering cable being stuck in the tube due to dried out grease?

 

Those grease fittings on the front of the tilt tube in your diagrams are for the tilt, not the steering cable.

You'll get a lot of different opinions on most everything here. The only grease fitting that I know of available for a steering tube is the Steersman or Widget described in the link to the previous thread that I posted earlier. You have to buy that and install it yourself, after you get the steering fixed now. I had one installed on my boat when new in 1992, I've greased it regularly, and it still works like new after 24 years of saltwater use. Currently using Mobil1 synthetic grease on all the fittings on my motor and trailer wheel bearings.

If I had your locked up steering cable issue, I would spray red CorrosionX into the end of the steering tube every day for about a week, then put my arms around the motor and try to turn it. Maybe have somebody trying to turn the steering wheel at the same time but not trying very hard to turn it or you'll strip the cable at the helm.

 

Kevin, I looked at that grease fitting last night. It looks like a very useful add-on. I could not determine if my Mercury 115hp, 4-stroke EFI has 1" or 7/8" thread. I emailed the vendor and he said no telling with Mercury outboards. Mercury put whatever was available at the time of manufacture. Do you have any idea which one is the correct one to order?

By the way, that grease fitting on the diagram, which you say is for the tilt. That sort of throw me off. It is right on the tube body. The rod end of the cable travel through the entire length of that tube and someone had said that he used a shotgun brush connected to a drill to clean out the grease in the tube. I was guessing he meant the grease that was pumped in through that zerk. That grease does not lube the steering cable end at all?

The added on grease fitting seems to lube only the end of the cable rod. Is that the only part that needs lubrication?

 

Kevin, I looked at that grease fitting last night. It looks like a very useful add-on. I could not determine if my Mercury 115hp, 4-stroke EFI has 1" or 7/8" thread. I emailed the vendor and he said no telling with Mercury outboards. Mercury put whatever was available at the time of manufacture. Do you have any idea which one is the correct one to order?

By the way, that grease fitting on the diagram, which you say is for the tilt. That sort of throw me off. It is right on the tube body. The rod end of the cable travel through the entire length of that tube and someone had said that he used a shotgun brush connected to a drill to clean out the grease in the tube. I was guessing he meant the grease that was pumped in through that zerk. That grease does not lube the steering cable end at all?

The added on grease fitting seems to lube only the end of the cable rod. Is that the only part that needs lubrication?

No idea on your tube diameter, measure it. Your diagram which I copied looks like it has a grease fitting on the left where my arrow is pointing. Mine doesn't have that does yours? Without the add on steersman or widget, most people wipe grease or lube on the rod when the motor is turned so the rod is sticking out. With the steersman, an o-ring gasket keeps the grease in the tube and water out. The o-ring wipes the rod off every time the motor turns and keeps it clean.

When I pump grease into my tilt tube fittings, I pump until new grease comes out some nearby holes. When I pump into the steersman, it gets hard to pump and no grease comes out anywhere. That means the two places the grease is going are not connected. When you pump into the fittings yours has, if no grease comes out the end of the steering tube, it's not going in there.

I learned about steering cables locking up a long time ago when a friends locked up, the boat I had at the time locked up and I was able to break it loose and added a widget to it and never had to replace the cable, which was $400 as I recall when I had it installed originally, when I added a console and steering to a johnboat. Adding the widget to my new boat before it hit the water was a no-brainier at that point.

 

I found out my steering was locked up after I'd already gotten the boat off the trailer (almost always a solo operation)... I winched it back up, gave the steering rod end a *few* taps with a rubber mallet (this is apparently why I have one in the truck box), got it unstuck and went on my way.
Later on, I hadn't taken it out in a while and was coordinating with a guy to come look at it to buy it... stuck like chuck. Mechanic had to remove & ream the sleeve or tube, can't remember, but cable was still fine.

I don't think anyone learns their lessons on the internet, has to be first hand experiences.

 

Kevin,
I do not have the zerk at the red arrow on the drawing.
I tried to take the rod out last night and it was stuck. I tapped it with a hammer and it moved but the other end, where the red arrow is, did not move. That puzzled me and I stopped as I wondered if I had broke something internally. I went on Youtube and watched this guy tapping his rod end, which drove the other end out of the tube.
The motor easily moved left and right once the arm driving the rod was taken off the rod.

Should I continue to tap the rod end to drive it all the way out?

About the widget, the 7/8 or 1" is the thread spec, it is not the diameter of the rod. How do you measure the thread? I know machinists use a thread gauge. Is there a way to measure without the gauge?

 

Kevin,

I do not have the zerk at the red arrow on the drawing.

I tried to take the rod out last night and it was stuck. I tapped it with a hammer and it moved but the other end, where the red arrow is, did not move. That puzzled me and I stopped as I wondered if I had broke something internally. I went on Youtube and watched this guy tapping his rod end, which drove the other end out of the tube.

The motor easily moved left and right once the arm driving the rod was taken off the rod.

Should I continue to tap the rod end to drive it all the way out?

About the widget, the 7/8 or 1" is the thread spec, it is not the diameter of the rod. How do you measure the thread? I know machinists use a thread gauge. Is there a way to measure without the gauge?

Copied from the steersman website: if a section of the tilt tube is exposed, you may be able to measure the threads O.D. using a micrometer or even a crescent (adjustable) wrench.

Measure the diameter of the threaded tube where the steersman goes. Can't help with your other questions since I've never had to take one apart.

 

Be careful not to mushroom the rod end.

 

This happened to me many years ago. I disconnected the linkage from the motor to the cable, sprayed with WD-40 and tapped on the end of the steering cable. It was a slow process but after an hour or so, I got the cable fully extended, cleaned and sprayed the cable down. Reconnected the linkage to the motor and it was good to go. Kept the cable cleaned and lubed after that.

 

Thanks, Kevin, I'll measure OD with the micrometer tonight.

Kenny,
I was afraid of damages to that rod end, so, I did it with a 2x4 cushion. I'll take a chance and drive it out tonight with a rubber mallet.

bowmansdad,
I got the nut off the cable end and slid a little tube into it as far as it went and sprayed it with WD40 last night. Hopefully tonight when I come back it may help loosen up whatever that is inside. Yes, sir, I learn a lesson here. From now on it will be once a year maintenance item to take it out and clean and lube the rod. I'll also install the Steersman zerk Kevin pointed out earlier.

 

Can't help but to reply again. Red can CorrosionX is about 10,000 times better than WD-40 for freeing up and preventing rust.

 

Ah...shoot, I did not have that CorrosionX on the shelf in the garage last night....LOL.
Have to pick up one to try it out if WD40 does not work. Thanks.

 

No home should be without it, so much better than WD-40. The only thing we use WD-40 for these days is wiping the surface of stainless steel appliances in the kitchen to get rid of fingerprints and watermarks.

 

Ok, I got home and tried to drive the rod out of the tube. The rod moved about 3" but yet the other end did not move one bit. I turned the wheel, the cable came out of the tube but yet the end (where the linkage is connected to) did not move at all.

I looked up Mercury manual and it is supposed to be one piece. Why did the end with the lock nut did not move while the end with the linkage moved?

So, now I am stuck. I cannot pull the linkage end back out and I cannot drive the linkage end in either.

In the manual, the cable end right before the lug nut also has a grease zerk. Mine does not. I guess my cable is non-Mercury? is it possible it is a two-piece instead of one-piece design as shown in manual?

Any idea?

 

Probably need a whole new cable. Soak the tube with PB Blaster from both ends and wait a day and it should come on out OR take it to a mechanic to replace the cable and let them mess with it!