Mariner 135 18 foot stratus 86 steering problem

[Starcraftguy1]

I have a 1986 stratus bass boat with a 135 Mariner outboard.I bought the boat with a bad trim motor,fixed that.No reverse but adjusted that and fixed it.But the steering is very hard,needs 2 hands,took the steering column out and cleaned and greased it all up.Obnoxious noise is only in the rear now.Steering only takes a hand and a half now.Am I wasteing time doing this,Should I just go buy 1000.00 worth of steering cables.Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: Mariner 135 18 foot stratus 86 steering problem

Try greasing the motor pivot.

If grease only squeezes out the lower bushing, jack up at skeg just slightly to move and play to the top bushing and grease it some more.

 

[Starcraftguy1]

Re: Mariner 135 18 foot stratus 86 steering problem

Thanks,I figured that I would have to go there next.Can you pull the cables out through the side,clean the tubes out,regrease and then just install the cables and rods back through the tubes.Anything weird you should do after reinstalling cables.By the way,Thank You.

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: Mariner 135 18 foot stratus 86 steering problem

Just pull it out clean it up. Run something through the tube (like a drill powered brush or something) and get it back together.

Sounds simple eh?

I guess at some point you will be able to make certain that the cable through the tube is the bad spot. If not you will have to move on to that issue (if it appears) too.

Good luck.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Mariner 135 18 foot stratus 86 steering problem

It could be anything from crud in the steering tubes on the motor, to a worn out cable. If one of the cables takes a sharp bend near the motor, they tend to wear out and bind there.

Worst case, New complete Teleflex Dual cable rack and pinion system is about $450.00. Steer with one hand, let go if you wish. Been there, done that, glad I did.

hope it helps
John.