Froze steering

[JeffH]

If you turn your wheel does it do so freely? Does the cable move in and out of the casing? The inside of my steering tube looked awful but clean-up nice with the WD and brush. For the brush I bought a 3/4" dia wire brush in the Plumbing Dept at Home Depot and had a 15" drill bit extension which I put in a drill and honed away. The stainless cable shaft clean-up with steel wool........The cable/sheath is one piece from helm to engine and come in different lengths which you need to match. They are stiff and not easy or fun to put in.

The absolute must of this project is the Steersman

http://www.steeringguard.com/html/whatitdoes.html

[ScottC]

Originally Posted by JeffH

If you turn your wheel does it do so freely? Does the cable move in and out of the casing? The inside of my steering tube looked awful but clean-up nice with the WD and brush. For the brush I bought a 3/4" dia wire brush in the Plumbing Dept at Home Depot and had a 15" drill bit extension which I put in a drill and honed away. The stainless cable shaft clean-up with steel wool........The cable/sheath is one piece from helm to engine and come in different lengths which you need to match. They are stiff and not easy or fun to put in.

The absolute must of this project is the Steersman

http://www.steeringguard.com/html/whatitdoes.html

Wow I feel like an idiot for not posting that, I have one, I totally forgot to meantion it. It is just one of those things that are so nesessary that you assume everyone has one.

Jeff is right, the steersman is an absolute must, and is the reaon your in the trouble you are in. On all the new teleflex cables the replacment part number in right behind the steering shaft, look carefully and it should be there, this makes it easier to replace.

[ProfessorM]

I think I will replace the whole thing. Funny but I talked to the people at the teleflex place and they helped me out a bit. They told me under no circumstances to put one of those grease fittings on.They said the grease will end up going up the cable and drag all the crud up into the cable and ruining the cable much faster. It supplys too much grease. They told me if you boat in salt water you should take apart and clean and re lube at least twice a year min. I don't know, but I will definetly take apart and clean twice a year from now on after this fiasco. Thanks to everyone who helped. Hopefully I won't have to bother anyone with the replacement procedure .. Paul

[striperman36]

steering guard is an awesome thing. I would use it.
But the real key is to keep it well lubricated however you do it.
Replacing the whole setup every 4 years also is good preventitve maintainence.

Bill