1974 Johnson Outboard Steering Cable Replacement

[TheRedDragon]

I'm replacing the steering cable on a 1976 Forester Tri-hull because she was showing her age. The steering system is a rotary/mechanical setup with what I believe to be and old style Big T helm up front. The cable routes to the back, through a side plate on the splashwell, through a stiff metal support surround. The cable has a cylindrical end on it, that has a slider that allows a threaded ball joint to protrude from the cable fitting, and secures to an adapter on the front middle of the 40HP Johnson outboard.
I purchased a replacement SSC62 steering cable from sea star and found a few differences that I'm hoping you all can help me with.

1) It doesn't have the cylindrical ball joint connector on the end. I'm not sure if I need to remove it from the old cable, if I need a steering arm, or if I can just bolt it directly to the engine.

2) It doesn't have a plastic connector to secure it to the helm. The old cable had this plastice connector that secured the cable to the helm after turning the wheel to feed it through.

Thanks in advance for your help. I searched for these topics and came up dry.

 

[TheRedDragon]

Here are pictures of the old cable setup/connection, and the model number on the old cable.

 

[oldboat1]

Google outboard tilt tube, tilt tube mount, tilt tube transom mount, tilt tube splashwell mount. Can substitute steering tube for tilt tube and see what hits you get. Ebay will give you something to look at too.

 

[TheRedDragon]

Thank you for the response. I'd rather not purchase any additional gear or add any holes to the boat if I can help it. Since the motor had no tilt tube to start with, I would think I could find a way to get it connected without that.

 

[oldboat1]

You need to find out what parts are included in a steering assembly. The tilt tube (or steering tube) doesn't come with the cable. In your picture, it is part of the splash well mounting assembly. (steering ram on the end of the cable goes through the tilt tube).

 

[flyingscott]

The new cable you have is designed for the newer motors that have the steering tube built in you don't have that. You need to find the bracket that attaches to the transom to hold the cable in place. What you have is adapted from the old style push pull cable steering. This is what you need

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TELEFLEX-SA...ash=item51c00da9e8:g:LqAAAOSwbqpTvdUi&vxp=mtr

 

[F_R]

1. They haven't put the threaded end on the cable for many moons. Clevis part number SA27314P fits the new style cable and replaces the ball joint.

2. They also changed how the cable attaches to the helm. Sorry, I'm not up to date on that issue. I think it takes SA27620 to adapt it, but confirmation is needed

3. Won't the cable nut screw onto the splashwell mount tube? (Other end of the tube from what's visible in the link picture)

 

[TheRedDragon]

1) I was just coming back to ask about that outboard clevis part, thank you for confirming that. Knowing that my old cable had that threaded end gives me a better idea of it's age!

2) The old cable had the cable nut on the cable already, so I'd appreciate anyone that can confirm what is necessary to ensure the helm end remains secured.

3) I haven't tried to secure the cable nut to the splashwell on the outboard end. I wanted to get the metal support tube off the old cable but it has that ball joint end on it. If you're saying the old cables used to be threaded on the end, does that mean this ball joint sleeve/adapter is just threaded on there? I played hell last night trying to unscrew it with no luck.

 

[F_R]

Yes, the old cable had a threaded end for a ball joint. That was like about 50 years ago. If the old cable is no good, you might just saw the end off.

 

[TheRedDragon]

I'm not going to tell the old girl you called her 50, when she's a 1976 model! Good call on the hack saw.

So that leaves me with a single outstanding question as to what I could do to ensure the steering cable is secured to the helm. I was reading some have used the SA27620 part to reverse their steering direction, so I'm not sure if that's what I'm looking for.

 

[TheRedDragon]

I confirmed with the sea star technical folks that the SA27620 adapter would thread onto my helm, and the cable would snap in and secure. Thanks again for taking the time to help me sort through this.

 

[oldboat1]

yeah, old helm, new cable... Just for grins, here's a complete assembly for what you have in the hull shown (transom end): http://www.ebay.com/itm/TELEFLEX-SA...ash=item3a6c74efbe:g:sdwAAOxy5jxSdbn2&vxp=mtr

 

[F_R]

I'm not going to tell the old girl you called her 50, when she's a 1976 model! Good call on the hack saw.

So that leaves me with a single outstanding question as to what I could do to ensure the steering cable is secured to the helm. I was reading some have used the SA27620 part to reverse their steering direction, so I'm not sure if that's what I'm looking for.

Lessee, 1976 would make her 40 years old. I wasn't too far off.

 

[TheRedDragon]

Oldboat, that's pretty much what I'm working with. I hacked off the old cable end and put that on the new one.

F_R, I was just giving you a hard time. 40 years it is!

Like a genius I somehow ordered the wrong diameter steering cable. It is a slightly larger diameter than my old cable on the helm end now that I look closely.

 

[TheRedDragon]

I didn't see the model number on the helm. Do you typically have to take that thing off to see that?

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/document.do?docId=692

From the pictures on the above website, it looks like I have the safe-t ts old style type with locking nylon nuts to secure the cable and the spent tube to the helm. Specifically, the sh-5023p . All the cables I seem to find online are safe-t qc cables for sale, not the safe-t TS version. The QC cable is what I ended up buying already (model SSC62) and I know the diameter is a bit too big.

 

[TheRedDragon]

I contacted the folks at sea star solutions and spoke with their steering expert. He recognized that I had a cable and helm manufactured by a company that had been long out of business. I ended up needing the complete steering kit with cable, bezel, and helm. The cable adapter is not required, but the clevis will be to connect this cable to my johnson outboard.

Thanks for all of the feedback.

 

[oldboat1]

Srong preference for rack and pinion system if replacing the whole system: http://www.iboats.com/Complete-Boat...8519063--session_id.783854069--view_id.246967 Simplicity, smooth operation.