85 Cobia sportster Mercruiser 120 steering issue

[jesseglu]

Last summer steering was working fine. At some point it started feeling kinda jittery turning. Now it feels a lot harder to turn under power and it seems to have some slack in it kinda a light vibration. I don't know hardly anything about boat steering systems so I'd like to know where to start troubleshooting and what to look for.

 

[matt167]

Probably need a new helm and cable. I would start with that. Unless something in the outdrive pivot has come apart ( which would be very evident ) the helms are kind of one time use. Cables go bad, it’s usually cheaper to replace it all

 

[Chris1956]

Grease the steering rod near the engine. Now exercise the steering and see if it improves.

 

[airshot]

Should also be some grease fittings at the upper and lower pivot points on the outdrive, make sure they all have grease.

 

[jesseglu]

Alright I'm gonna try greasing it first and report back. I saw a video on pumping fluid into the cable too idk maybe I'll try that.