Steering Is Locked Up - Any Ideas

[copafisher]

Hey guys,

Have not had the boat out for a while and found the steering locked up last time I went out, got it free by moving steering wheel back/forward. Doing some maintenance today to check why locked up, I found it again solidly locked up. Put additional grease in and tried freeing it - no luck. Removed the steering link rod to check if boat or motor.

Confirmed its the boat side, somewhere in the cable. Not sure what the cause is, likely corrosion somewhere, though I did read in the manual about hydraulic lock occurring. Though its only supposed to occur if you add lubricant (grease) when the steering cable end is fully extended, mine is fully retracted.

Would it have anything to do with the fact that for the first 2 years I was leaving it extended & exposed when I parked the boat, while I make sure its retracted now. Was also an area that was not getting a good flushing until we got our rainwater tank.

When I checked the manual I realised how little I really knew about how it operates and found little if anything in the manual. Don’t have any diagrams or details really and don’t want to excessively tinker/pull it apart without understanding how it works.

It’s a 3-4 yr old 4.8m Stacer bowrider with a 2 stroke 75HP Mariner which I have been promising to get it to Huey for a number of other reasons and a service. Will have to be sooner rather than later, don’t want dodgy steering .

Any ideas ? Is it likely to be the cable or the end or hydraulic lock, the wheel end appears OK.

Thanks

Steve

[a boat]

Hi Steve, steering will seize due to lack of use and lack of grease. With your set-up it is easy to remove and clean the steering cable and re-instal. On the starboard side of the engine you have the big nut of the cable that is connected to the tilt tube of the otuboard. First undo the drag link of the outboard and then remove the nut on the cable which will allow you to remove the cable from the tilt tube. If the cable is free, then give the cable and the tilt tube a good clean and re-install with marine grease and you should be good to go.

If not confident of doing this it would be less than an hour for us to do this and if the cable is OK there will be no need to replace any parts. If the cable is tight itself they cost about $150 plus a bit of labour to replace.

Cheers,

Huey.

[copafisher]

Hi Steve, steering will seize due to lack of use and lack of grease. With your set-up it is easy to remove and clean the steering cable and re-instal. On the starboard side of the engine you have the big nut of the cable that is connected to the tilt tube of the otuboard. First undo the drag link of the outboard and then remove the nut on the cable which will allow you to remove the cable from the tilt tube. If the cable is free, then give the cable and the tilt tube a good clean and re-install with marine grease and you should be good to go.

If not confident of doing this it would be less than an hour for us to do this and if the cable is OK there will be no need to replace any parts. If the cable is tight itself they cost about $150 plus a bit of labour to replace.

Cheers,

Huey.

Thanks Craig, I will have a look at it and see what needs to be done.

I think just a good clean and regrease may fix it, but wont know till I pull it apart. The cable was not tight and appeared OK when it first happened, just the inital lock.

Will let you know when I pull it down , hopefully Friday. I will give you a call when I do, I want to book in for a service and some advice re trailer/boat recovery setup and some other things. So will have to arrange some time to book her in and drive down to Cowan.

Thanks again

Steve

[BaysideMarine]

Steve,

Upon removal of the steering cable from the tilt tube, run a 5/8 drill bit through the tilt tube to clean out any rust. Then clean the outer and inner of the steering cable (right hand down on the steering will expose the inner section).

When you reassemble DO NOT use grease. Oil, inox, wd40 etc are all suitable to lubricate your cable. Grease when combined with salt water creates a "concrete" type substance that will jam your steering cable.

When not in use you should turn your steering full lock either way once a week and do it at the same time as you run your engine.

Cheers

[a boat]

Hi, marine grease is what should be used, WD40 will wash away(it is a water dispersent), innox can and will dry and oil will not hang around long.

A proper marine grease is what should be used and with modern cables having an inner and outer cable both of SST it is no where near as big a problem as many years ago. Main reason is lack of use or installing the cable dry from new and I would be surprised if the inside of the tilt tube is that bad considering the age, but if so, you need to clean out as suggested.

Cheers,

Huey.

[copafisher]

Thanks guys,

I will pull it apart and see what needs doing. I have a small cylinder hone which might be the go if I find any bad corrosion.

From my web searchs it looks like there has been many people over the years with a similar problem at some stage (until you learn the hard way ) and all sorts of solutions.

I always use marine grease, despite even recently being advised at a boat shop that std grease is OK. No sense saving yourself a few dollars to cost you lots. I do use Innox, mainly as a protective coat, it gets quite hard when salt gets into it.

I think I will stick to the recommended methods and make sure I do more frequent maintenance and the steering movements etc.

Thanks again

Steve