Steering on my 73 Mercury 200; 20 H.P

[brandonlunsford]

I recently purchased a 14' flat bottom boat with 20 H.P. mercury 200 on it and it came with a steering system. I am new to all of this and was wondering how I hook up the steering. It was just all jumbled in the bottom of the boat when I got it. Here is a description: It has the steering wheell with some kind of casing behind it with thick cable looking thing that extends to the engine with a rod on the end that runs through the engine that screws on. That is about as good as i can explain. Any help would be awesome.

thanks,
Brandon Lunsford

[8075mercury]

Congratulations on your purchase. These are great motors!

See if your steering wheel will turn as sometimes the cable freezes up without use. And see if when you turn the steering wheel, does the motor turn. Your steering cable goes through the horizontal tilt tube on the motor that sits right above the transon. Then you have a connecting rod that connects the end of steering cable to a bracket screwed to the steering arm of the motor.

I would suggest that you get an owners manual and factory service manual or Seloc manual from Mercury and/or ebay. Also you might go by a boat shop/store and see how they are rigged up. These manuals tell you important stuff about how to do maintenance and how to rig up.

Good luck and have fun!

[brandonlunsford]

Thanks for the info:

I did try putting the rod in the slot and tightened it into place. I then attempted to turn the steering wheel and it was extremely stiff and didn't budge. the motor just moves back and forth freely as if nothing is attached is it supposed to do that or when the rod is attached is it supposed to be steady? What would be my next step?

[8075mercury]

As always a picture is worth a thousand words.

I would suggest that you disconnect the steering cable from the motor and see if the steering wheel turns stiff, if so, your cable is binding, common problem from sitting up. Might could lube, oil, ect, and get free.

Also, suggest you go to a boat store and see how they hook up steering for a small hp motor say on an open aluminum boat. Your steering cable end opposite from the steering wheel end should have a rod with a hole in the end. This rod goes through the tilt tube and the cable shoulder screws onto the tilt tube. The hole in this rod single bolts to a connecting rod that single bolts to a bracket on the 20hp motor steering arm. These single bolts have a lock nut. A manual would show pictures and how to connect. It goes without saying you will want to hook up the steering correctly to avoid surprises on the water.

Hope this helps and Good luck.

[brandonlunsford]

Thanks again,

Another question I have for all of you Enginoids. This motor has been sitting for nearly 5 years and ran perfect before it just sat. What would be the first steps to figuring up why it wont start. I have pulled the rope about 200 times and it sounds like it wants to crank but it just doesn't fire up. Any help would be beneficial. By the way I ordered the SELOC manual yesterday in hope that it comes in before the weekend.

Thanks