2000 Merc 90hp will not take lube for steering rack

wn6ngp

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
209
I'm trying to do some lubing of the steering rack on my 2000 3cyl Merc 90. Problem is that when I put the grease gun into those fittings I am unable to pump any grease thru them into the rack. I've removed the fittings and verified that I can get grease thru them but when I put them back I still can't get the grease to go in. I'm thinking maybe I need to loosen those large nuts on the ends of the rack to relieve pressure so the new grease will push out the old grease. Any other suggestions? I tried uploading photos but I get errors during load process. they are not large images. So you';ll have to visualize what I'm talking about. Fortunately the rack is not messed up, this is just preventative maintenance.

Don
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
May 24, 2011
Messages
49,038
Steering rack? :confused:

Are you talking about the helm (rack & pinion steering) or the motor swivel?

On the swivel, if you can pump grease in with a needle tip, then the zerks are bad and frozen.

How and what is your pic source? Click on Forum Help in the sig below and look at the thread on posting photos.
 

wn6ngp

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
209
I would call it the rack and pinnion under the motor. Its like a long tube and the steering cable goes in one end extends and retract that steers the motor from side to side. There are 3 zerks, I removed them and I was able to push grease thru them but when I screw them back in I can't push grease thru them into that rack and pinion. tried a different jpg still no luck.
 

wn6ngp

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
209
Now that I look at it it more closely that makes sense. I'm the 2nd owner so it could be that there should not be zerks in there anyway. I'll tinker with photos later but I think that this is a non problem. I did have an o ring break on the end of that steering cable which ultimately caused stuck steering as water got in there but its been fine ever since I fixed that. I'm overly cautious since the lower unit got stuck on due to corrosion on a steel locating pin. That was a 3 day job.
 
Top