1977 85hp Johnson steering cable is stuck and won't come out

Hello, I just got a boat for free from a friend of the family because they thought it would take too much work to fix it up. Everything is in pretty good condition except the motor which needs some work, which brings me to the problem I am having.<br /><br />The steering cable is stuck in the tube that goes through the motor at the transom. It will move back and forth, but once it gets to a certain point, it won't come out any more. To get the motor off the boat, I cut through the cable about 3-4 inches from the side of the tube.<br /><br />I found another post that says I need to take the large nut on the end of the tube off, but I haven't been able to figure out how to do that. It's fairly rusted and stripped, I couldn't figure out what size the bolt is, but I know at least that it's a size I don't have a socket for. A socket in my impact set comes close, but it would strip it even further if I tried to use it.<br /><br />I'm not even sure I would be able to get the tube out if I was able to remove the nut. It looks like the tube has been rusting itself in there for years. I read about using a wooden dowel plus a sledge to try and hammer it out, but haven't tried that yet because I couldn't remove the nut.<br /><br />I took a picture of the nut in question, which is available by clicking on the link below (dial-up warning):<br /><br /> http://files.fredwick.com/files/0107110802997494.jpg <br /><br />Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Re: 1977 85hp Johnson steering cable is stuck and won't come out

You can by-pass that with a transom bracket since you are going to have to replace the steering cable anyway. web page

Re: 1977 85hp Johnson steering cable is stuck and won't come out

Thank you for the suggestion. I just want to make sure I understand the purpose of that device. Basically, it acts as a replacement tube, so I could leave the old rusted up steering cable where it is and just attach the new cable to this instead?<br /><br />If so, that's awesome and will save me a lot of work! Do I need a special cable to use it, or will a regular cable work? And on the topic of steering cables, when I order a new one, does it have to be exactly the proper length, or if it's a foot or two off will it still work?<br /><br />Sorry for these dumb questions but I am new to boating, so I do not know a lot of the things you probably take for granted.

Re: 1977 85hp Johnson steering cable is stuck and won't come out

That's the basic idea, except that the bracket allows a more direct steering. There are other alternatives, too, which depend on the configuration. <br /><br />Iboats sells all of these systems and there is a lot of information to consider. <br /> web page

Re: 1977 85hp Johnson steering cable is stuck and won't come out

Why not just split the nut?

Re: 1977 85hp Johnson steering cable is stuck and won't come out

Yeah .. that's why god created the dremel (much cleaner than the cold chisel). I wouldn't leave the broken cable hanging out there. Maybe some good liquid wrench - type of solvent/lube and a pipe wrench might get it started.

Re: 1977 85hp Johnson steering cable is stuck and won't come out

Fred, when you install a new cable where yours was, I don't think you need to remove the nut and tube unless it is rusted badly inside. If it is rusted out, then you will have a lot more to do than just getting that nut off.<br /><br />There should be a plastic wiper sleeve at the port end of the cable which you should try to remove before pulling the cable back from the starboard end.