Seagoon Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hi all, Gee i've had a long winter off fishing, and am raring to go now, but took the boat out on Sunday morn, only to not be able to steer the sucker. The steering rod that slides through the outboard's hinge is seized, or something, and wont budge unless coaxed by a big mallet. Any tips? Is there any chance that I have somehow bent the shaft inside and that may be causing its unwillingness to move? Perhaps someone bumped into the back of the boat while it was parked on the street. Cheers, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisg Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hi all, Gee i've had a long winter off fishing, and am raring to go now, but took the boat out on Sunday morn, only to not be able to steer the sucker. The steering rod that slides through the outboard's hinge is seized, or something, and wont budge unless coaxed by a big mallet. Any tips? Is there any chance that I have somehow bent the shaft inside and that may be causing its unwillingness to move? Perhaps someone bumped into the back of the boat while it was parked on the street. Cheers, Jon No its just seized up....do a search here for stuck steering. Happens often and you'll find a solution. Sometimes though only a new cable will do it. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewgaffer Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hi Seagoon. Did the hit with the mallet free up the shaft and did it stay free? The steering rod will more than likely seize on my Evinrude if it hasn't enough grease or if I don't move it move it back and forth regularly after a lot of fishing. Salt build up on the thin film of grease can cause a steering arm to stick. It pays to keep the arm well greased and keep turning the steering wheel in both directions every couple of weeks to keep the arm moving. The problem is there is not enough room where the arm goes in to hold sufficient grease. Cheers jewgaffer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copafisher Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hey Jon, I had the same problem not so long ago. If you search using %steering% and copafisher its not too hard to find my initial post. There are others too. Simple answer is to undo the smaller nuts either side and use a piece of wood to protect your steering cable end while you tap it through. Dont remove the large nuts as they hold the tilt tube in place and form the hinge for your engine, if you tap it out you could drop the engine off the hinge/boat. Once the cable is out give it a good clean and regrease it. Mine had a thin layer of hardened grease & salt. I used some really fine wet and dry to break it up it up, you will need to clean inside the tilt tube & the outside and inside tubes of the steering cable. I will have to pull mine apart again as I could not clean all the crap out from inside the tilt tube, even with brass shotgun cleaning brush & drill. If you have a grease nipple on the tilt tube it doesnt actually get grease inside the tube, it only lubricates the hinge itself that tilts the motor. As jewgaffer said move it back and formward everytime you go past and schedule a clean every so often, once you have done it once its pretty straight forward. See photo before I cleaned mine up. Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagoon Posted September 23, 2008 Author Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hey, thanks people for your replies - much appreciated. Will let you know how i go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choppy Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 You can buy the grease from Supercheap auto like i did recently. They have a CASTROL MARINE GREASE for about $9.80 Hey, thanks people for your replies - much appreciated. Will let you know how i go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james7 Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 I had that problem about 7 years ago. It took a mate of mine over 2 hours to free the rod from the sleeve. He also used a bit of rag over a piece of dowel to clean out inside the sleeve. It took ages. It was coated with dried grease, salt and crap. Since then, I pull it apart about every two years and clean and re-grease it. (Only use marine grease too) It's much easier than waiting for it to sieze up completely. If the steering ever starts to go a bit stiff, do it then. You'll save a lot of time and worry. I also regularly move the steering wheel every week when I'm not using the boat often. Cheers Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagoon Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 Thanks for those further tips guys. Just when you think you know how to maintain your boat...! Yeah sorry I forgot - the its was still jammed in there after a few solid hits with the mallet!! Gee its in there hard... Anyhow, i've got some inspiration now. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cut_loose Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 heyy bit off question but what sorta boat/motor is that ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hassar480 Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 i have had this to my motor allso ..try pushing the motor NOT THE STEERING WHEEL.....if you carnt do it your self get a mate to help two big guys will move it ..... then grease up the sharft and move the motor a few times more it will get easyer ,,,,, and keep the grease fresh i grease my sharft after every trip only takes a secend .......albert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copafisher Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 ..try pushing the motor NOT THE STEERING WHEEL.....if you carnt do it your self get a mate to help two big guys will move it ..... then grease up the sharft and move the motor a few times more it will get easyer I thought the same with mine albert, after an hour with 2 100+kg guys trying to move it , I figured it was only going to move with a bit of persuasion (and a bit of hardwood to protect the end). I had also liberally applied WD40 the night before and during our struggles but it didnt help, once I got it started it tapped through pretty easy. Hardest bit was actually breaking all the hardened crud off the inside of the tilt tube. Like you I now add a bit of extra grease after the trip, after cleaning off the old stuff. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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