First time replacing a steering cable, need advice

[stancalame]

I have a 1992 Galaxie 21' boat with OMC King Cobra 574APERGD. Stiff steering is problem and it uses Rack and pinnion system with hydraulic pump on chevy 350 motor. The cable is E300319-198 inches. The 198 indicates that this cable is 16.5 inches.

I talked to iboats rep and understand that Teleflex bought Morse and the replacement cable they would sell is a Teleflex SSC13017 which is a 17 foot cable. Obviously I cant order a 16 foot cable becuase it would be too short. My concernis that the 17 foot wil be too long. I have read in this forum that too long of a cable wil cause binding issues. I assume others have faced this in the past.

The representative told me I could measure just the black sheath and add 30 " and that would tell me what I need to know.

Per sticky post on this forum, I measurered as best I could from steering wheel to gunwhale to transom to midpoint of steering cylinder and came up with 18+141+44= 203 inches which is 16.9 inches so 17 footer makes sense. I was not extermely precice with tape measure as I was doing it alone. I will redo the measurment becuase I did not place tape on the dashboard rather I eyballed to the spot on the gunwhale where the cable would intersect coming from the steerting wheel.

What advice would you have for:

1) Purchasing the 17 foot replacement? Is it the right one since I cant buy a 16.5' cable?
2) Actual change out of the cable? What are common first time mistkaes to avoid?
3) can cable be lubricated to prevent future problems?

Thanks for your insight

 

[ThomW]

You definitely would want a 17 foot cable over 16 feet. Much easier to hide a few inches, compared to stretching a cable that is too short! The few inches extra can easily been taken up with slight curves that would not bind up anything. Those issues are more common if you have a few extra feet of cable you try and hide.

Changing cable is pretty easy. Once you unhook it from the helm and the motor, you'll need to disconnect the cable from the rack system. Then tie a string to the cable at the helm end. I also tape the rope to the cable to ensure the rope stays attached. Then, pull the cable from the rear of the boat until it is out and you have the rope (make sure rope is long enough to still be exposed up at the helm). Undo, and then re-tie and tape that rope to your new cable. Then, carefully pull the rope back from the helm and the new cable should snake up through without much fuss. Just take your time and make sure the cable doesn't bend to much or kink. Reattach to rack and attach at the helm, then use a water resistant teflon lube on the other end of shift cable before replacing into motor sleeve.

Good luck and hope this helps!

 

[stancalame]

THanks for the tip. The rope makes sense however I think my cable is permently attached to the rack. All the pics of the replacememt cable include the rack. I'll review when I take apart. It may be a while before I perform repair but tryijng to get ready.