worked on finding the cause yesterday....engine swings freely with steering arm detached...so tried loosening the large nut that holds the steering cable into tilt tube.....was really tight and noticed the cable jacket was moving with it...not supposed to........no visable corrosion anywhere but maybe inside cable and jacket?. .....used a pipe wrench on the cable end so i wouldnt crush it and got the nut unstuck from it and then unscrewed from the tilt tube.... with a little effort....then couldnt pull it all the way out from the tilt tube to remove it without bending it....was hitting against the motorwell side....Ill have to unbolt the motor and slide it over a few inches.
I did all the installation originally....just dont remember doing that part.
From what I can tell its the cable....so im ordering a new one. I put it back together after cleaning and lubeing and its working a little better.
Tilt tube had dirty grease coming out with the rod....but wasnt stuck or tight and moving freely. I applied marine grade grease on the ram bar on a regular basis.
Like Guppy says....
BOATS
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