Frozen Steering Cable

[BoLin]

Hi All,<br /><br />Just bought a used 1977 Grady with an Evinrude 200. Seller said that the steering cable was broken. That's the easy part.<br /><br />It's a Teleflex manual steering system with a rotary helm. It appears that the steering ram is solidly frozen inside the motor tilt tube. So far I've:<br />- removed the cable from the helm (that's where the break was)<br />- disconneted the motor steering arm from the end of the ram<br />- disconnected the steering cable nut from the motor<br />- loosened the nuts on both sides of the motor<br />- lubed the tilt tube via the zirc fittings (tilt/trim works fine)<br />- sprayed ~20 gallons of WD-40<br />- beaten the end of the steering ram (port side) with a hammer<br />- and tonight it's "marinating with WD-40 and white vinegar.<br /><br />Does anyone have any suggestions other than the one my fav marine supply gave me? They said to pull the motor off the boat, heat the motor bracket and beat / cut out the tilt tube and ram. Oh, and thay can schedule me in about 4 weeks. That's a bit out of my price and time range.<br /><br />Help?<br /> I can't get the cable

 

[moderator1]

Re: Frozen Steering Cable

Welcome aboard, BoLin!!!<br />I'm going to move this to Outboard, non-repair as it pertains more to the steering system than engine repair...

 

[Laddies]

Re: Frozen Steering Cable

I have better luck with Mercury power tune for a penatrant, some like PB blaster, WD 40 a isn't what it use to be, try slideing the mount nut back and cutting the rest of the cable off to get to the other end to lube, some engines when tilted all he way up give access to the steering or tilt tube and you can take a air hammer to them to help loosen the cable inside the tube, also sometimes a twisting action will help, if you do this do it near the end, of the cable because you will have to clean up the damage to get the cable thru the tube, good luck---Bob

 

[roscoe]

Re: Frozen Steering Cable

Yes, use Liquid wrench or another true penetrating oil.<br /><br />Be careful not to peen over the end of the steering ram, or it will be too large to fit thru the tube. Better to get a similarly sized punch, place it against the ram, and beat on the punch.<br /><br />Maybe you could cut the cable on the starboard side of the tube, and push it thru to the port side. ?

 

[BoLin]

Re: Frozen Steering Cable

Well, the vinegar didn't do a thing, but we've put penetrating oil on and in every place we could get it and we're hopeful. Thanks for all the responses. We'll let you know if and when it works. Linda

 

[noelm]

Re: Frozen Steering Cable

welcome to the world of "saltwater" this is a very difficult part to remove once "stuck" I have had this once and was easier to replace the tube once all the steering bits were disconnected, it is a rather big job but quite easy as far as mechanics go, pretty simple thing, just a tube and a couple of nuts, but every thing will be tight to move!

 

[OBJ]

Re: Frozen Steering Cable

You can put a bolt through the hole in the ram to help prevent it from peening over. In some situations, you can get the ram lose like this and then cut the cable on the starboard side and drive it out through the port side.

 

[moderator1]

Re: Frozen Steering Cable

When you install your next cable, get a Stainless bore brush for a 10 gauge shotgun, get your hands on a gun cleaning tube for the brush to screw in to and chuck the tube in your drill.<br />use cleaning solvent as a fluid and work the drill in and out (This takes some time!). Every few minutes stop and push a rag through to clean the dirty material out...keep doing this until the rag come out relatively clean. THEN, go to a JohnRude dealer and get some tripplegaurd or you can use 101 lube for the new cable.

 

[ncman424]

Re: Frozen Steering Cable

Thx much to all the posters here, I had a frozen cable on a mercruiser. I heated the tube for about 45 seconds with a propane torch and it came loose, pulled the cable out cleaned the cable ram and the tube. Works like new about 30 min of effort saved me several hundred $. My trusty boat dealer told me the cable was probably broken and I needed a new one.
There are no mechanics who fix things anymore only people who know how to remove and replace.
Thanks again for the info..