Steering

Hello, I have 1976 16ft Glastron with a 1977 Johnson 85. My dad bought them both new, and both are in great shape, but I have a problem with the steering. It is locked up tight. I disconnected the engine from the cable and it turns freely. The steering wheel turns freely as far as the cable will let it. I believe that the teleflex cable is sticking, and may need to be replaced. The real problem is the steering tube that runs through the front of the swivel bracket. It is locked up solid. I was sticking a little last year, so I cleaned and lubricated it, but over the winter it froze up. I have the Johnson manual, but it has very poor instructions on removing this steering rod. Does anyone know how difficult it would be to replace the steering tube, and bushings? Do I have to remove the entire engine? Thanks for any help.<br /><br />Thanks<br />Tommy

Re: Steering

Tommy,<br /><br />You are correct, you need a new cable.<br /><br />I cannot see why you need to remove the tilt tube? You should be able to drive out the old cable end (ram). Once you do that, you should be able to clean up the inside bore with round (bottle) brush.<br /><br />Once that is done just replace the entire cable assembly.

Re: Steering

Thanks for the quick reply. The steering rod that is on the left side of the engine will not budge. Shouldn't I be able to push it out the right side of the tilt tube once the cable is disconnected. I tried, but I did not want to put too much pressure on it until I found out if it was suppose to come out that way or not. Again thanks for your help.<br /><br />Tommy

Re: Steering

Tommy,<br /><br />Yes, it should push out the right side, assuming you are behind the engine when you say right side.<br /><br />You can put a little "pressure" on it to push it out.