steering very tight ...

[slamm]

Hi, im new to this forum i have a 1995 jonson motor on my 95 Seaswirl Striper, Lately i have been noticing that the steering has gotten harder to turn we greased the fittings on the motor but the steering rod going down thru the motor looks very rusty i tried to pour some penetrating oil down put it is not lgetting any better any ideas how to address this woudl be appreciated Thanks !!

 

[CATransplant]

Re: steering very tight ...

Maybe it's the outboard, and maybe it's your remote steering. Disconnect the remote steering connection from the outboard and see if it's still hard to turn. If not, then the problem is in a cable or the steering wheel or the mechanism behind it. Isolate the problem, and then you can do the repair.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: steering very tight ...

slamm, i responded to your other post.

 

[Matt_]

Re: steering very tight ...

I had a simular problem with that. The boat sat for about a year while some work was done with it, and it took two hands to move it. After about 15-20 minutes on the water, it loosened up and is now back to the way it was. Give it some time and see if it gets better.

 

[zzzzz]

Re: steering very tight ...

you may have to dismount the motor to do it but you need to get the steering cable out of the tube on the motor(called the tilt tube) and ream out the tube-there is one made like a round file and a different one made like a wire brush that you put in a drill...using a good degreaser (put down a good layer of cardboard to catch the MESS !)run the brush in and out of the tube from both sides while squirting the degreaser on the brush and into the tube ...by the way- the 2 grease fittings aren't for the steering-they are for the motor swiveling and tilting

 

[slamm]

Re: steering very tight ...

Thanks for that info by the wat if i need to change my steering cable how do i find out what size cable to buy i have a 19.5 ft seaswirl striper 1995 ....

 

[slamm]

Re: steering very tight ...

Thanks for that info by the way what size cable do i need if i need to change my steering cable how do i find out what size cable to buy i have a 19.5 ft seaswirl striper 1995 ....

 

[Chris1956]

Re: steering very tight ...

Slamm, I will assume the hard steering is caused by the steering rod binding in the outboards tilt tube. If so, simply turn the wheel until the rod projects its maximum. Now use some penetrating oil and a cloth to get off as much of the rust and gunk you can. Now oil the shaft with more penetrating oil and turn the wheel back and forth several times. Now expose the rod and repeat the clean and oil process until the steering moved freely. Now grease the steering rod with some light weight grease. Merc makes "Special Lube 101" just for this purpose. It is grease with the consistancy of toothpaste.