'77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

[diastiss]

Is there a lock on the motor that would cause the steering to just lock up? I can't get the motor to turn at all, even pushing on it with my hands.

I stole this picture from a previous post about steering

 

[F_R]

Re: '77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

Is there a lock on the motor that would cause the steering to just lock up? I can't get the motor to turn at all, even pushing on it with my hands.

I stole this picture from a previous post about steering

Disconnect the drag link that connects the steering arm to the cable. Now, which is stuck, the cable or the motor itself? 90% chance it is the cable where it goes through the tilt tube. Caused by lack of maintenance. Now comes the penalty for not lubricating it. Those things are usually a real bear to get apart.

 

[diastiss]

Re: '77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

ok how do i do that? lol i can't seem to find my darn repair book :/

here's some updated pics from MY boat

 

[diastiss]

Re: '77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

i disconnected the steering arm and the motor does turn freely, that rod going through the tilt won't move when i turn the steering wheel. it turned like a week ago, is there something i can do to get it unstuck?

 

[lindy46]

Re: '77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

Pretty nasty looking. I'd try some grease in those zerk fittings. Looks like they haven't seen grease in a long time.

 

[oldrudedude]

Re: '77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

Lucky you! It is good that it worked a week ago. That means that the corrosion was not bound the parts over a large surface area yet.

This is what I would do:

Remove the nut that holds the cable onto the tilt tube and try to pull the cable out of the tilt tube. Does it move? Are you now able to turn the steering wheel and cause the cable housing to move on the cable? At this point you should be able to distinguish whether it is the cable/housing or the tilt tube/cable end which is siezed.

If it is the tilt tube/cable end, remove the grease fittings and spray in lots of WD40 (or whatever) into the fittings. Also spray the end of the tilt tube where the cable end comes out and try to get as much in as possible. Let soak. Work the cable end as best you can to try to budge it. Once you get it to move, remove it, clean it, and grease it.

 

[diastiss]

Re: '77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

got it! thanks oldrudedude! i took off the steering arm and took a hammer and beat it in halfway, got a grease gun and filled both points to hell. after turning back 'n forth a few times its smooth steering for me. i guess i caught it in time and serves as a wake up call to make sure i stay up on the greasin'. first boat newb captian

 

[capnstabbin]

Re: '77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

Got a 70 HP 1976 Johnson with some teleflex cable jam tilt tube locked.

The boat sat all winter this year and got rusted up, could not move it one bit. Whacked it a few times, jerked the steering wheel, all of which did not work.

Heated the port side of the transom bracket enough to make lil gap to spray into. I used knocker ? technician grade. Had to heat it early in the morning so that it was cold enough for the cable to stay cold and the bracket heated up nice.

Then I waited and thought and researched then the guy I bought the boat off of told me to

1) remove the grease fittings on the bracket, spray BP Blaster, Knocker something int o the fittings
2) heat the tilt tube in the center and towards port a lil bit.
3) Spray immediately after heating so it seeps in.
4) wait
5) Spray again
6) beat on the port side of the steering cable with a 2x4 like you just lost you mind.
7) Rinse and Repeat

Worked for me, the only thing in all the posts I have read on this site and many others regarding this issue is Step #1 - REMOVE THE GREASE FITTINGs TO SPRAY IN SOME PB BLASTER.

Going back to stabbin in the cabin,

 

[toma]

Re: '77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

Working on the same problem with my 90 hp 84 Evinrude. I am brand new to boating so I assumed since the motor turned to port and starboard when I parked it last fall that there was no problem.

Been searching the internet for a couple of hours trying to find a diagram of the steering cable. It isn't in my manual and I am not finding it on the internet. I came across this post.

So far here is what I have done and what I need to find.

1. By disconnecting the connection on the steering connection on the port side I determined the motor turned. (I do not know what they are called, I think the tube the rods are in is called the tilt tube and I have learned 5/8 ID is standard.)

2. I found I had to hammer the steering rod out of the tube. In my case not an easy thing as I had to first lift the motor away from the boat to be able to hammer the steering cable end out of the tube.

3. Once the steering cable end was out of the tube it was pretty clear the cable was still functioning.


Now the problems getting it back in. It slides halfway in and sticks. I have cleaned the tilt tube as best as I can. I used the little wire brush from my dremel tool on an extension with my drill. Is there a tool that does a better job of this? Tomorrow I will be getting lithium grease.

I still have several questions on how to proceed and though I would ask here since you just went through it.

1. Does the cable end come apart for better cleaning? If so how do you do it?

2. Should there be some kind of grease seal on the port side of the tilt tube to keep the grease in?

3. There are two grease zerts on the inside of the transom mount. They look like they would just grease the pivot points where the engine tilts. Do they also have passages to the tilt tube to grease the cable end tube and how do I get grease inside that? (I plan to add grease along the inner tube before reinstalling it.)

I have already made this dumb mistake, what should I know to make reassembly easier, avoid damage and avoid problems with this in the future?

 

[F_R]

Re: '77 Johnson 85 Javalin steering locked

One of the most neglected items on a boat is the steering lubrication. Taking that thing apart and lubricating it is part of normal routine maintenance.

There are two possible things that might be preventing it going back together. #1 is you don't have all the rust out of the tube. There is a special wire brush made for that job, however I had a reamer that I used. #2 reason is the cable ram may be bent. It is new cable time if that is the case. The cable does not come apart.

You are correct, the grease fittings are for the tilt. They do NOT lube the steering.

There are various aftermarket accessory fittings to lube the cable. I'm sure they are sold here at iboats.