'75 OMC steeing tight.

wire knot · Aug 27, 2006

I've got it narrowed to the "shaft /gear" going through
the upper gearcase.

I believe the way to go is to remove and clean,...correct?

Got a manual comming, but I'm not sure I can wait.

How do I remove this shaft to clean and free it up

Thanks for all replies.
WK

wire knot · Aug 30, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight. Tru Course?

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight. Tru Course?

OK Guys the manual doesn't cover this.
How do I remove the Tru Course "wheels" at each end.
The shaft going through the upper case is frozen.
The two grease fittings don't help.
I believe I need to remove this shaft to clean it.

Anyone have this steering.
Or better yet, know how to get the the ends off
Thanks
WK

Boomyal · Aug 30, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

On the sternside rim of the stern TrueCourse drum, there is a notch. At the base of the notch is the slot head screw that holds the drum on the steering shaft. You'll have to have someone slowly rotate the wheel while you look down the hole for the screw to appear.

You have to pull the drive off its trunions to be able to pull the shaft, out of the drum, out the back of the intermdiate housing. You want to be sure to pay attention to the shims and washers on each side of the drum. There is a nylon bushing that the shaft terminates in in the shaft end hole in the intermediate housing. That bushing is probably shot. I just bought one at the local boat shop. Don't know if they are current production but they had several.

That being said, I think you will find that once you remove the drum, the steering will still be stiff. You'll need to lube the two cableways. It made a huge difference in the steering effort of my '75.

Mahoney · Aug 30, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

Ok, not to sound like I think anyone is an idiot, or make myself sound like one.

Even though I don't have true course steering I have a tention nob under my steering wheel tht can be tightened to lock the steering and increase tention.

I only say this because I have been burned many a time making something more complicted than it was before checking the easy stuff.

Example, my computer doesn't work.

Did you plug it in? There is a reason this is first on the list of tech desk guys for a response to that problem!

Boomyal · Aug 30, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

No tension knob on true course steering Mahoney. But it sure didn't hurt to throw it up as a possibility.

Mahoney · Aug 30, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

haha, I have bought more new spark plugs due to crossed ingnition wires than I care to admit too!

wire knot · Aug 31, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

Thanks Boomyal/Mahoney(again)
I have made some progress.
Still to hard to splash her.
I'll try to remove these soon.

The cables seem to be moving well.
Really think its the shaft through the in housing.

Thanks again.
I'll keep ya'll posted.
WK

ndake · Aug 31, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

wire said:
I've got it narrowed to the "shaft /gear" going through
the upper gearcase.

I believe the way to go is to remove and clean,...correct?

Got a manual comming, but I'm not sure I can wait.

How do I remove this shaft to clean and free it up

Thanks for all replies.
WK

ndake · Aug 31, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

On mine (76) if you lift the out drive and look up under you can see there is a grease fitting on the shaft. Hope this will help you. Other then that you will need to pull out drive to pull shaft out. Good luck

DukesFin · Aug 31, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

ndake said:
On mine (76) if you lift the out drive and look up under you can see there is a grease fitting on the shaft. Hope this will help you. Other then that you will need to pull out drive to pull shaft out. Good luck

I could explain how to pull the shaft, but YOU WANT TO WAIT FOR THE MANUAL!!!!

It's going to involve pulling the outdrive, removing exhaust housing, removing the "cap" on the backside of the shaft, but the part you want to be careful with is making sure you have the steering set to dead-center when putting it all back together.

Trust me... WAIT FOR THE MANUAL! You will save yourself a LOT of trouble and time!

Good luck!

wire knot · Aug 31, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

Thanks Ndake,
There are two g/fit on this shaft.
One out board(the one you mentioned),
one just behind the motor.
Neither one takes any grease or
frees the steering AT ALL!
Still working on it.

Found the removal screws boomyal mentioned.
Haven't tryed them....YET...Soon though

Thanks
WK

Boomyal · Aug 31, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

wire said:
Thanks Boomyal/Mahoney(again)

The cables seem to be moving well.

Ya still ought to lube the cables while you have the rear drum off. If you want to know how, let me know.

wire knot · Aug 31, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

dukesfin.....whats up?
My original post, on the 27th stated I did not want to wait!! My second post said my manual didn't help.
So do I need to beg?
Thanks anyway.

Maybe I'm not making myself clear??
I want all the help I can get

Boomyal · Sep 1, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

wire said:
....I want all the help I can get....

wire knot, all you need to know is already written above including, LUBE THE CABLE WHILE YOU HAVE THE DRUM OFF THE IM HOUSING! If it is not dragging yet, on your age of boat, it will soon do so. That is also hard on the truecourse cable which is very expensive to replace.

NW Redneck · Sep 1, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

Does that help at all? Sorry, don't have a scanner yet.:/

Boomyall: I'd be interested in finding out the proper way to lube the cables! The steering is one of the few things I haven't pulled apart yet because it works pretty good. It IS old (75) and has sat for years before I got it so it probably should be done BEFORE I have problems! 8)

NW Redneck · Sep 1, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

Hmmm. i think the resizing fuzzed it up, sorry

Boomyal · Sep 1, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

NW Redneck, there may be a proper way and then there is my way. My steering was extremely tight. My two grease fittings on the shaft would take grease so I was pretty certain it was in the cable. After pulling the shaft I was proven correct.

After removing the rear drum, I propped it up in the air about chest high while I was standing in the boat. I took and aerosol can of TriFlow (with spray tube) and sprayed it down each cableway as the cable was retracting into the sleeve. I had my son slowly turn the wheel as I sprayed down the passageway of the retracting cable. Once to the end, my son turned the opposite direction and I sprayed into the other side. I repeated this several times then just kept turning the wheel from lock to lock to distribute the lube.

Whereas I had a real resistance problem, this would be a good preventative for an older cable. I would say that I eliminated 80% of the steering resistance (with steering shaft out of the loop) by doing this.

NW Redneck · Sep 2, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

Thanks Boomyal. Sounds easy enough. Does the front assy need lubing too, or is most of the wear at the rear?

Boomyal · Sep 2, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

NW said:
Thanks Boomyal. Sounds easy enough. Does the front assy need lubing too, or is most of the wear at the rear?

IMHO, the lube administered from the rear, especially if you can hold the rear drum up as far as you can get it, will work its way to the front of the cable. I did in fact squirt some TriFlow (there are other similar brands with teflon in them) into the front of the cable ways, under the dash, but I did not want to disconnect the steering. As such, the cable was on the horizontal under the dash so I could not get as much lube into it as I did the elevated rear.

I suppose that the proper way to do it would be to disassemble the drums, pull out the cable and thoroughly grease it. I think you know why I did not choose that route.

NW Redneck · Sep 2, 2006

Re: '75 OMC steeing tight.

Ya, you're a lazy a$$ just like me!:$8) J/K!

Would a spray grease like white lithium work or would it be too thick to work it's way along the cable?
Thanks!

'75 OMC steeing tight.

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