Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

Got my steering wheel nice and centred. Pretty easy to do. No I didn't pull the steering wheel off. That's not really the best way to do it. I did the correct method and pulled out the steering cable from the helm, aligned the wheel per Teleflex's recommendations, reinserted the cable and voila! it's straight! While I was in there, looking at the mess of cables, I decided to make my gauges straight too. Simple procedure. Loosen the nuts on the clamps that are on the back of the gauges, straighten them out, re-tighten the clamps. Everything is accessable from the small panel that's on the underside of the console. Instructions for the steering helm are on the Teleflex manual. It's a rotary type, single cable, no feedback system.

Also installed my new prop. Got the Black Max 12P 10.625" on it now. Can't wait to see how it performs tomorrow. Going to head out for some fishing tomorrow. Hopefully get some crappies and perch. That's all thats open up in my neck of the woods.

Marcel

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

Thats good info on the steering cable, thanks.

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

Success!

What a difference with the new prop. Tops out at about 34mph on the speedo, 6150rpm. That's with two adults, full tank of fuel and fishing gear. Holeshot is 10x better too. The new prop is the Black Max, 12P 10.625".

Steering adjustment was bang on. If you follow the Teleflex instructions, it's straight forward and you will be very happy with the results.

Basically you remove the access panel at the bottom of the console. There you will see the back of the steering helm. Remove the two bolts that hold the cable in the housing. It's the top cable. Then turn the wheel till the inner cable starts coming out. Keep turning till it's all the way out. It's pretty stiff so carefull where it goes as it's coming out so you don't damage it. Once it out. Align the motor and steering wheel. The motor should be straight, the steering wheel as per the instructions. Then you feed the cable back in. Push it in till you feel it make contact, then just start turning the wheel till the cables all the way back in. Make sure the brass ferrul is all the way in. Then put the two bolts back in. Check and see how it looks and works. Should go from max to max in turning. Approx 3 turns of the steering wheel each way. Retorque bolts on cable ferrul clamp and you're done.

These are the instructions I followed:

http://www.downloadingfiles.co.uk/teleflexfiles/library/instructionmanuals/SH5150rev2.pdf

Now that I've had a better look at the helm, it appears as though the one in the FM165 is like this:

http://www.downloadingfiles.co.uk/teleflexfiles/library/instructionmanuals/SH5150rev2.pdf


Interestingly, the starting position for the wheel for alignment purposes is opposite. Yet I ended up in the correct position with full travel each way. Go figure!

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

Tiggyboot said:

Success!

What a difference with the new prop. Tops out at about 34mph on the speedo, 6150rpm. That's with two adults, full tank of fuel and fishing gear. Holeshot is 10x better too. The new prop is the Black Max, 12P 10.625".

Steering adjustment was bang on. If you follow the Teleflex instructions, it's straight forward and you will be very happy with the results.

Basically you remove the access panel at the bottom of the console. There you will see the back of the steering helm. Remove the two bolts that hold the cable in the housing. It's the top cable. Then turn the wheel till the inner cable starts coming out. Keep turning till it's all the way out. It's pretty stiff so carefull where it goes as it's coming out so you don't damage it. Once it out. Align the motor and steering wheel. The motor should be straight, the steering wheel as per the instructions. Then you feed the cable back in. Push it in till you feel it make contact, then just start turning the wheel till the cables all the way back in. Make sure the brass ferrul is all the way in. Then put the two bolts back in. Check and see how it looks and works. Should go from max to max in turning. Approx 3 turns of the steering wheel each way. Retorque bolts on cable ferrul clamp and you're done.

These are the instructions I followed:

http://www.downloadingfiles.co.uk/teleflexfiles/library/instructionmanuals/SH5150rev2.pdf

Now that I've had a better look at the helm, it appears as though the one in the FM165 is like this:

http://www.downloadingfiles.co.uk/teleflexfiles/library/instructionmanuals/SH5150rev2.pdf


Interestingly, the starting position for the wheel for alignment purposes is opposite. Yet I ended up in the correct position with full travel each way. Go figure!

Click to expand...

Congrtats,,,,no better feeling than finding a solution then make it happen, a now a straight steering wheel
I've been waiting for your 12P Prop test, just great news, I did order one after your advice in my maiden voyage thread and it is installed, but not in the water yet. I only have the 50hp so maybe not 34mph,,,,I'll get it in the lake this Saturday.

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

I'm sure you will enjoy your new boat just like I'm enjoying mine. It's not going to set any records for speed and power. But for a fishing rig, it's fantastic.

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

lol good info. My steering wheel is off by 180 degrees. I swear, how does this get past quality control inspection? :redface:

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

BoatNoobie said:

lol good info. My steering wheel is off by 180 degrees. I swear, how does this get past quality control inspection? :redface:

Click to expand...

It's your dealers fault, not Lowe. They are the ones that do the rigging of the boat/motor. They are the ones that should have made sure it was in the right spot. It's all to due with the position of the steering wheel when they feed in the steering cable into the helm. You can correct it yourself, it's not that difficult. See above

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

Tiggyboot said:

It's your dealers fault, not Lowe. They are the ones that do the rigging of the boat/motor. They are the ones that should have made sure it was in the right spot. It's all to due with the position of the steering wheel when they feed in the steering cable into the helm. You can correct it yourself, it's not that difficult. See above

Click to expand...

Also, so I tried to do this today.

I did straighten out the wheel, but I got a different issue with my turning radius.

When the wheel is straight and the motor is straight. I can crank the wheel to the right about 2 and a half revolutions, from the straight position.

When I try to crank it to the left, I'm only getting 1 and 3/4 revolutions from center.

What gives? My motor is a 2005 motor.

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

BoatNoobie said:

Also, so I tried to do this today.

I did straighten out the wheel, but I got a different issue with my turning radius.

When the wheel is straight and the motor is straight. I can crank the wheel to the right about 2 and a half revolutions, from the straight position.

When I try to crank it to the left, I'm only getting 1 and 3/4 revolutions from center.

What gives? My motor is a 2005 motor.

Click to expand...

something doesn't sound right. It should be pretty close to even. Where was the motor positioned when you did that? It should be all the way to one side. It should be this way when you back out the steering cable. When you go to feed it back in, with the wheel at the correct position, it should end up with the wheel centred, the motor centred and the cable in the halfway point.

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

Tiggyboot said:

something doesn't sound right. It should be pretty close to even. Where was the motor positioned when you did that? It should be all the way to one side. It should be this way when you back out the steering cable. When you go to feed it back in, with the wheel at the correct position, it should end up with the wheel centred, the motor centred and the cable in the halfway point.

Click to expand...

ohhh... The motor was about centered when i disconnected the cable from helm.

I guess I'll crank the motor all the way to the side then remove the bolts.

PS, you only remove the top 2 screws right? And leave the bottom one alone,that holes the plastic tube in place?

I originally removed all 3 screws.

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

correct, only the two bolts that hold the steering cable in place on the helm (aka the steering mechanism) These bolts hold the ferrule on the cable sleeve inside the helm. Good luck.

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

Alright, so I just redid the steering wheel.

Wheel is still nice and straight. And I'm still getting the same turning radius.

Dont know. Mine is a 2005 motor, so maybe it's different.

I also looked for a spot to put the trim sender. I another individual mount, he has 2 little screw holes to mount. Mine doesnt have them.

No place for the trim sender on my boat.

Here's what I did.

Crank the motor all the way like I'm making a right turn, until the motor no longer moves.
Remove the 2 bolts.
Turn steering wheel other direction to remove the coil.
I made sure motor was still in the same spot.
Position steering wheel in the starting position shown in PDF.
Insert coil and start turning until the ferrule or whatever goes inside the slot.

Re: Ok...got the wheel nice and straight, gauges too!

Thanks for the info, I straightened mine out yesterday, not that hard really. It did take two tries to get it spot on. If I ever have to do it again, I'll mark the starting point with a bit of masking tape on the wheel and hub, that way if it isn't perfect the first try, you have a reference point for the correction.