steering

[cwalls5656]

I have a 84 procraft 1750. i was going down the water and my steering broke. last year it was getting harder to turn. how do i know what type of steering cable to order? do i just order cables or do i have to get a kit? how hard are they to change out? and do i need to take old ones off to find out what length i need? it has a outboard 150 johnson gt motor, ( does that matter when i order cables?)
thank you for your help.

 

[cr2k]

Re: steering

If your steering is original I would suggest getting a kit that would include a new helm. The bushings and gears in the helm wear out too and you would have sloppy steering. Is it not that much more for a kit and well worth it peace of mind. On the cable housing there should be some numbers within a few feet from one end. (could be either end). Some are in feet and inches some are on total inches. i.e. 15' 6" or 180". If you can't find this most sites have a way for you to measure for what you need. It is Always better to error on the long side.

 

[64osby]

Re: steering

If you look at the cable usually near the motor there should be number on it. Match that if you can for a replacement.

If you can't find a number pulling it is about the only to measure it accurately. It will need to be pulled anyway so not a big deal.

Look at your helm (mechanism) to determine if you have a rotary or a rack system. Was it good or was it sloppy, hard to turn or otherwise bad. If it was bad replace it.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: steering

Teleflex Morse mark their cables within a foot of one end with a series of numbers. I agree that a new system might be your best/safest bet considering the age of your boat. They offer the whole system. Get the no feedback type either in rack and pinion or radial. I have used both. I know rack comes in NFB, not sure of radial....I know mine didn't have it but that was many years ago.

On installing, ensure that you have nice sweeping curves to your cable and as I recall they tell you what the minimum bend radius is. If you exceed it you will kink the inner wire and that is what turns your engine. You DO NOT want to kink the inner cable.

Short story. I bought this 2 year old boat and the steering was unbelievably stiff. In short, the mfgr. came out with the cable from below via a port adjacent to the engine which was too close to the engine and caused a kink in the inner cable. I got tired of fighting it (took 2 hands to steer) and bought a new Teleflex NFB system with the rack and pinion. In attaching to the engine, I redirected the routing to the engine so that I had at least the recommended sweeps in the bends and steering is perfect.

HTH,
Mark

 

[louiefl]

Re: steering

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topic...-4-2-vs-safe-t-ii-helm-v-4-engine-564526.html

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topic...ics/steering-trouble-94-starcraft-571891.html

Take a look at the above thread and then the one linked at the bottom of my last post. Lots of useful info in the second thread. Report back and let us know how it goes.

 

[cwalls5656]

Re: steering

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topic...-4-2-vs-safe-t-ii-helm-v-4-engine-564526.html

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topic...ics/steering-trouble-94-starcraft-571891.html

Take a look at the above thread and then the one linked at the bottom of my last post. Lots of useful info in the second thread. Report back and let us know how it goes.

I unhooked the steering cables today. one cable moves and the other does not. also, the steering wheel sounds or feels like a gear stripping when i turn sometimes, and sometimes it just turn, do i need to replace the hew also?
thank you

 

[Bondo]

Re: steering

I unhooked the steering cables today. one cable moves and the other does not. also, the steering wheel sounds or feels like a gear stripping when i turn sometimes, and sometimes it just turn, do i need to replace the hew also?
thank you

Ayuh,.... Get the Whole thing as a Kit,... Helm, 'n cable...