Stearing very stiff

[Geoff]

I have the tube type stearing which is now 13 years old & has progressively become very stiff over recent years. I would like to fix it , preferably with minium cost

I have removed the nuts on both sides of the motor sleve , cleaned all the grease from the shaft & inside the sleve . The motor can now move freely on the shaft , however , whilst the actual stearing is a bit easier the problem appears to be else where.

I have also cleaned , as best I can , the grease which has migrated up the sleve going to the stearing wheel , but it is still  not right .

What else can I do , is the problem possibly in the stearing box under the dash  , if so not too shore how serviceable this unit is

I assume I'm not the first person to have this problem so hopefully someone has the solution without ripping the whole thing out

Tks , Geoff

 

 

[Fab1]

54 minutes ago, Geoff said:

I have the tube type stearing which is now 13 years old & has progressively become very stiff over recent years. I would like to fix it , preferably with minium cost

I have removed the nuts on both sides of the motor sleve , cleaned all the grease from the shaft & inside the sleve . The motor can now move freely on the shaft , however , whilst the actual stearing is a bit easier the problem appears to be else where.

I have also cleaned , as best I can , the grease which has migrated up the sleve going to the stearing wheel , but it is still  not right .

What else can I do , is the problem possibly in the stearing box under the dash  , if so not too shore how serviceable this unit is

I assume I'm not the first person to have this problem so hopefully someone has the solution without ripping the whole thing out

Tks , Geoff

 

 

http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/topic/79244-maintaining-your-boats-cables-and-grease-points/#comment-569847

Have a read mate.

Cheers.

 

[Nolongeramember]

Hey Geoff. Have a look what I wrote here, should help.

http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/topic/74460-urgent-help/

[Geoff]

Thanks guys , a lot of good information

I'll continue cleaning the shaft where it comes out of the " stearing box"  sleve near the motor until I have it as clean as possible then a light application of lubricant .

If that does not fix it , then looks like I need stearing box maintance  

[Nolongeramember]

It's very unlikely for the steering wheel end to be the problem as it's the engine side that is exposed to all the salt and water.

[kingfishbig]

You might need a new cable, they tend to rust over time - actually you have done well to get 13 years out of one. 

PS: white lithium grease is the best to use for greasing the steering rod.

 

[Geoff]

tks guys  , will be working on it today , hopefully get some improvement

 I Will report back

[rickmarlin62]

odds on its the cable..rick

[Scratchie]

Thanks for the info on this thread raiders! I'm about to replace my steering cable too! 

cheers scratchie!!! 

P.s good luck with it Geoff 

[Captain Spanner]

Probably the cable. Be careful not to force or bend the cable when replacing it or it will be stiff and put pressure further up the line and break other stuff like the worm screws and stuff in the helm.

[frankS]

Geoff. Hi Mate I just caught up with this thread. If you are still having problems bring the boat around to my place and we will fix it. Or PM me your address and I will go and have a look at it. Everything here that you would need to get the job done.

Frank

[rickmarlin62]

steering cables lay coiled in a lot of transoms and end up rusting an seizing ..I replaced mine not long ago and its easier than stuffing round trying to free them up when they are seizing.. replacing is easy non expensive and gets you back on the water quicker..rick

[Geoff]

Thanks Frank but all done , not perhaps 100% but a lot , lot better than what it was

As a final summary , the main problem was down the back where 13 years of grease had become hard & some had migrated up the shaft on the starboard side. There was no rust or corrosion

This took a while to clean out before it was ready for fresh lubricant

With the stearing box , I was reluctant to pull the whole thing apart so I removed the top black tube which covers the spring , cleaned off the old grease which also had become hard ,  applied new grease , turned the wheel from L to R several times until there was a reasonable coating & that made a big difference  .

Finally , when I tightened the starboard nut at the motor the stearing again became stiff , backed it off about 1.5 turns & now , all good

Tks again for every one's contributation

Geoff

[tuffy]

Just another suggestion guys, check the trim tab on the bottom of you motor. If it's sitting straight you will have a torque problem. I had this issue with my new Haines. The previous owner obviously thought the trim tab should sit straight but this is not the case as these tabs are designed to offset any engine torque.

Just a suggestion as  this was my problem. It was obviously the previous owners problem as he replaced the steering cable 3 times in 5 years.

Cheers,

Tuffy.