Froze steering

[fishaholic18]

Originally Posted by ScottC

In most cases you do not want to do that, your steering is stiff and unruley and usualy tied to your wiring, and on most smaller boats you can just drop everything down and carefully remove the steering cable and pop a new one in with less hassle. Trying to mouse the cable could damage the wiring.

Done it many times with no problem. Have to make sure wiring is out of the way and not attatched to cable(common sense). Only way to do it on CC when cable is under deck. Paul. check your PM.

[ScottC]

Originally Posted by fishaholic18

Done it many times with no problem. Have to make sure wiring is out of the way and not attatched to cable(common sense). Only way to do it on CC when cable is under deck. Paul. check your PM.

Oh his is under the deck? I was under the impression his was rail mounted.

[MakoMike]

If you don't have any grease fitting on the tube already, you can drill two holes for the fittings, but before you put the fitting in get some kind of penetrating oil and get some into the tube and let it sit for a while before you get out the hammer. Heat also helps persuade things to move. After you get it out, put the grease fittings in and use corrosion block grease to lube it up well, before you put it away for the winter.

[JeffH]

Professer - I have a Honda 90 and had the same thing happen. The fix is not that difficult. The Honda has a steel steering tube not stainless. The steering cable is stainless the salt water gets in there the steerer tube rusts and the whole thing locks up. The two grease fittings lubricate the tilt tube only NOT the steering tube. Here is what you need to do. Disconnect the steering arm from the engine to the steering cable. If you have enough play in the steering cable you simply beat the steering cable out of the steering tube, you will need something that fits inside of the steering tube as you will need to rap it all the way out. If you don't have enough play in your cable you will need to disconnect it from the helm so it will move as you beat the crap out of the cable. Once out you need a wire brush like a 20ga shotgun brush and clean/hone the steering tube out using WD or alike. Hone clean hone clean until rust color is gone. Go buy a Steersman steering nut with grease fitting (the Honda is 1" not the more common 7/8") and put that on in place of the stock nut. I needed a stainless flat washer to take up some gap as the Steersman Nut only goes on 4 or 5 threads. Now grease it up and your all set. Mine has been fine for 5 years.

There is absolutely NO drilling required as suggested by some other posters.

P.S. Don't try to force it with the steering wheel or you will break the helm. You can have my broken one if you like..........

[ProfessorM]

Thanks guys. I did see the grease fittings but I also thought they were for the tilt. After I disconnect the cable which way am I pushing,beating the rod out left to right looking at the engine from the rear with port on the left? So I disconnect the nut on the starboard side and then hopefully it just pulls right out and then I clean out the tube. Well I am off to try it. P.

[JeffH]

As your looking at the engine from inside the boat I'm assuming your cable runs under the deck to your left. You need to unbolt the left nut. The right one is the one that gets replaced by the Steersman.

The cable will only pull out easily if the cable is frozen but I will bet the cable shaft is frozen inside the steering tube and the cable itself is fine.

[striperman36]

I had this happen on my Honda 90 to. I don't understand why Honda cheeps out on the tube. Amazing.
Good luck Prof. It's just grunt work from here.

Bill

[JeffH]

Striperman36 I have that exact rig shown in your Avatar less the T-top

[ProfessorM]

Well removed the nut on the starboard side, turned the wheel and the shaft came out as far as the wheel would turn, about 10". The part of the shaft that the motor attaches too, has a flat milled on it and a thru hole for bolt to attach to motor via linkage did not move. Is there a shaft inside a shaft inside the tube? I banged on the what seems like the shaft inside the tube, the part the motor attaches to, and it did budge a little, pushing inside the tube. I need to get this thing out I assume. Lots of cruded up grease inside there. Do I continue to bang that end all the way out of the tube? P.

[striperman36]

It's exactly like mine but I have a 90 Johnson SPL

[Van]

Take it out the way it went in. Meaning by pulling the cable back out.
Sometimes when space is limited, they actually install the rod through the engine just before mounting the engine to the boat. This happend on mine so I just kept sutting it off. (but it was not frozen) Anyway, If thats the case it will not back out because its too stiff to make a sharp turn. (I hope not).

If so, a sharpie told me this trick. You may have to lean the engine out from the top bolts by replacing them (one at a time) with LONG carriage bolts and use them to tilt it back so that you now have a clear shot at the tilt tube. loosen the bottom bolts so it can tilt out, but dont take them out. Once leaning away from the transom, you can beat the crap out it easily, and reinstall easily too.

The old cable should have the size (length) printed on it, they don't go by just the length you can measure, there is some difference with the rod and stuff.

Good Luck