Stiff steering 1999 125hp Mercruiser help please?

[smpoll]

Hi Guys-

I have a 1999 Sea Ray 190 Sundeck with a 125hp Merc, bought new, that's experiencing tight steering. In 2005 I was experiencing tight steering to the left and had the boatyard check it out at the time. They replaced the cable, a $600 repair.

Now, I'm experiencing stiff steering in both directions especially when I get up on plane. I'm not a mechanic by any means so I'm looking for an easy inexpensive way, such as lubing, to avoid another costly repair.

Any help is appreciated, thx-
Scott

[Bigjohn1]

Most likely, it's a corroded tilt tube (the thing your steering cable hooks into at the engine). Have you been lubricating the zerk fittings at the engine on a regular basis?

If I were in your shoes, here's what I would try to get through the summer. Mind you, this may or may not work (sometime you do get lucky though). Get a buddy to stand up at the wheel and you with a grease gun back at the zerks on the front of the engine. Pump five times and have him cycle the steering back and forth lock-to-lock a few times. Repeat this a few times till you obviously have excess grease coming out. If this doesn't work, either remove and clean your tilt tube or farm it out to your dealer. Purchase a "Steersman" nut and have them retrofit your engine with it while they clean/replace your tilt tube. Your lubrication-related steering problems will be a thing of the past -- as long as you periodically lubricate the Steersman.

[smpoll]

I personally haven't been lubricating them, I just assumed the yard was doing that on a regular basis when it was being winterized and prepped for spring.

I guess that's something I should have done periodically over the summer. I'll start now, obviously maybe too late though.

What kind of grease do you recommend, I researched some Mercury Marine 2-4-C with teflon, will that work?

Also, is there a step by step diagram that you would know of out there because as I said earlier, I'm by no means a mechanic.

Thanks for your help.

[Bigjohn1]

yes, 2-4-C by Merc is a superior product and will work just fine for this application. No diagram that I know of - just try the 2-man procedure as I describe below. You stick the grease gun tip onto the little grease fittings on the front of the outboard (the fittings are commonly referred to as "Zerks").

Good luck and I won't beat you up over what you have apparently already discovered. That is, never assume boat yards are performing all required maintenance