steering wheel frozen

[momostallion]

hello everyone,

i just bought a used '99 Wellcraft 200ss with volvo penta 5.0 motor. launched it today and backed it off the trailer just to find out that my steering was stuck.

tried to force the wheel, no luck. has about a 1/4 turn worth of play.
looked at the cable - rack connection, and the rack isnt budging.
added power steering (was low) - still nothing.
tried to push the outdrive manually and shake it loose, still nothing.

the hoses on the rack from the PS pump are leaking a bit, but only after trying to force the wheel to turn.

also, another concern, as we were raising the trim, there was a pink fluid leaking down the hoses. im guessing that's hydraulic fluid for the trim.


what have i got myself into. any suggestions on the steering or what might be happening with the hydraulic fluid?

 

[maxxman04]

Re: steering wheel frozen

check the power steering rack mounted on transom, specifically where the cable goes thru. this needs to be greased regularly, it's probably dry, rusted a bit. fluid is a small leak from somewhere. should be able to trace it back to leak.

 

[momostallion]

Re: steering wheel frozen

you're talking about the connection from the rack to the outdrive right?
it looks like a big metal linkage. ill try greasing it. what kinda grease? white lithium?

anyone know if i disconnect the linkage from the rack should i be able to move the outdrive left and right?

 

[maxxman04]

Re: steering wheel frozen

outdrive should move side to side anyway. but yes, you can disconnect the cable from the rack at outdrive i believe. i'm not totally on par with the volvo setup, but there should be a grease fitting on rack somewhere to grease the slide that cable goes thru. hopefully someone who knows for sure can give ya a hand with specifics. sorry i couldn't be better help.

 

[momostallion]

Re: steering wheel frozen

ok i messed with it some today. i know what you mean now. i was wrong about the steering rack, it seems like the steering cable is freezing up. after some searching it seems to be a very common problem.

i loosened the steering cable nut from the rack, took the ps lines off the rack, now the outdrive swing freely at least.

i unhooked the cable from the rack.

i tried pulling the steering cable out of the rack but its not pulling out any pulling out any further.

is this silver part supposed to come out all the way? any suggestions on removing it?

 

[maxxman04]

Re: steering wheel frozen

yes, cable is supposed to come out all the way. could be a bit of corrosion or debris stopping it, could just be tight fit. it should come out tho.

 

[momostallion]

Re: steering wheel frozen

i'm not having much luck pulling this cable through the tube. i did soak it with pb blaster last night, so i hope that helps when i try again today.

this is how much came out by turning the steering wheel:

this part is still stuck although it doesn't move when turn the wheel like the rest of the cable does.. maybe the cable is broken inside somewhere.

can that silver part be unscrewed from the rest of the cable?

 

[momostallion]

Re: steering wheel frozen

Thank God!
I finally got the cable out. soaked it in pb blaster then hit through with a punch and hammer and it finally worked through. i'll snap a pic of the cable today.
i'm gonna clean it out good and keep the new cable maintained!

just need to see if i can replace the cable with a NFB setup.

 

[leoo24]

Re: steering wheel frozen

i just went through exactly the same problem, and tapped it through with an iron rod and hammer, after having heated the tube, but from your photos i wish i had had your access, i was contorted into a hell of a shape with my head sticking through a gap, one arm through another gap and the other through another gap!

 

[momostallion]

Re: steering wheel frozen

did you wind up replacing your tilt tube?