1995 Mariner Steering Question

[northwoodsPT]

I just recently bought my first boat..its a 19 ft Spectrum fish and ski with a 1995 90 HP Mariner. The motor runs well, but to when you have to turn the steering wheel its pretty tough to turn, you have to muscle it a quite a bit. The boat has rod and pinion steering by Telflex? i think. The guy i bought the boat from said that the steering is tough on the boat, he thought it was just because of this type of rod and pin system, and not having hydrolic steering on the boat.
My question is, is this normal to have this tough of steering, and if not what are options for diagnosing what is wrong, and suggestions to fix it? Any insite would be appriciated.
Thanks
Andrew

 

[j_martin]

Re: 1995 Mariner Steering Question

I just recently bought my first boat..its a 19 ft Spectrum fish and ski with a 1995 90 HP Mariner. The motor runs well, but to when you have to turn the steering wheel its pretty tough to turn, you have to muscle it a quite a bit. The boat has rod and pinion steering by Telflex? i think. The guy i bought the boat from said that the steering is tough on the boat, he thought it was just because of this type of rod and pin system, and not having hydrolic steering on the boat.
My question is, is this normal to have this tough of steering, and if not what are options for diagnosing what is wrong, and suggestions to fix it? Any insite would be appriciated.
Thanks
Andrew

No, it's not normal for rack and pinion steering to be "tough". The older Morse racks were faster (fewer turns on the wheel) so they were a little harder to turn against engine torque, but the steering system itself should offer little resistance.

Disconnect the steering from the motor at the end of the cable. Should be one nut to take off the steering link. Then see if the steering is tight with the engine disconnected, or if the bushings in the engine mid are frozen.

hope it helps
John

 

[northwoodsPT]

Re: 1995 Mariner Steering Question

If the steering is tight with the engine disconnected, does that mean that the steering cable itself is the problem. If it steers easily is that the case where you have to use some sort of greese to lubricate where it goes into the engine. I have been doing some research on some other posts about this topic...can you disconnect the cable from the engine without taking the engine off the transom?
Thanks for your response

 

[j_martin]

Re: 1995 Mariner Steering Question

If the steering is tight with the engine disconnected, does that mean that the steering cable itself is the problem. If it steers easily is that the case where you have to use some sort of greese to lubricate where it goes into the engine. I have been doing some research on some other posts about this topic...can you disconnect the cable from the engine without taking the engine off the transom?
Thanks for your response

There are so many variables that if I tried to shotgun all the possibilities, I'd be here all day, and forget the point you need touched anyway.

Do it step by step.
First, verify that it is rack, vs drum. The difference is obvious by the descriptive name.

Then, disconnect it at the steering link from the cable to the steering arm on the motor. See where it's tight.

If it's the motor, one of 2 bushings has frozen and isn't taking grease. One grease fitting on the mid services them both, so it could be a problem to get lube into the stiff one.

If it's the steering, it's likely the cable, but it could be just crud in the tilt tube jamming the piston. Either way you have to remove the cable from the engine to fix it. It's stiff, and you'd likely have to unbolt the engine and hang it on a hoist to pull the cable out.

A quick inspection of the cable where it bends sharply beside the helm, and also at the motor well may reveal a rupture that will end your search without much work, except for replacement.

hope it helps
John

 

[northwoodsPT]

Re: 1995 Mariner Steering Question

John, Thanks for you help. If i do find that the cable needs to be replaced the only way to do this is to completely remove the engine from off the boat? Also, if i needed a replacement would i need just the cable, or a complete new teleflex steering system?
Thanks
Andrew