Freeing up a stiff Teleflex steering cable?

[nola mike]

2003 Merc 25 hp. I kind of assumed that the stiffness was at the engine side. Today I removed the cable completely from the tube. The flexible aft end of the cable had fresh looking grease on there, no corrosion. However, still tight to turn even disconnected. The helm end has the cable that protrudes from the box. There is some old crusty looking grease on that. The interwebs tell me that the cable at the helm is non-serviceable. That can't be true? I'm not willing to buy a whole new assembly without a fight, especially not this year. Any tips?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Un bolt the old, bolt in new. You can try, however i dont know of any successful attwmpts

 

[jimmbo]

The way the Telflex inner cable is designed to mesh with the helm, I wouldn't be subjecting it to extreme torque. I have freed up locked up old Ride Guide cables with solvents/penetrating oils applied to the ends and applying torque to the wheel and force applied to the powerhead, to attempt to move the engine in the corresponding directions

 

[Redfred1]

Read this from another Forum. He disconnected the cable from the OB; clamped a piece of clear plastic tubing on the cable; put Mystery Oil tn tube.Clamped a tire valve stem on other end. Applied pressure with a tire pump. He said it worked.

 

[Tassie 1]

I've had to do a couple of times with a older boat that didn't get used for a couple of years,

easier with two people, one at the wheel, one outside the boat,
lots of rags to wipe away old grease,
new grease,
heat source to heat tube,

wheel bloke turns it as heat is applied
other one wipes away old grease as it warms up,
applies new grease,

give wheel a couple of turns when walking past every couple of weeks to avoid problem down the track

had this boat 10? yrs, still has the same system on it since l bought it

 

[nola mike]

Redfred1 , guess I have nothing to lose. Would prefer a way to lube it at the helm though
Tassie 1
, Already taken apart and lubed the motor end, the problem is with the cable or helm

 

[Bondo]

The helm end has the cable that protrudes from the box. There is some old crusty looking grease on that. The interwebs tell me that the cable at the helm is non-serviceable.
I'm not willing to buy a whole new assembly without a fight,

Ayuh,...... The phrase "Polishin' a Turd" comes to mind,.......

 

[GA_Boater]

Ayuh,...... The phrase "Polishin' a Turd" comes to mind,.......

I hadn't thought of it quite that way :lol:, but the guts of the helm are either gummed up with old, hard grease or the gears are shot.

A new kit with helm and cable are not expensive compared to having the steering lock up at the worst time.

 

[nola mike]

Ayuh,...... The phrase "Polishin' a Turd" comes to mind,.......

Well, you should see the boat that it's on :lol:

 

[GA_Boater]

BTW - Cable can be removed from the helm. A new kit has a loose cable and replacement cables can be bought.

 

[nola mike]

I hadn't thought of it quite that way :lol:, but the guts of the helm are either gummed up with old, hard grease or the gears are shot.

A new kit with helm and cable are not expensive compared to having the steering lock up at the worst time.

Well, it looks like the cable is sold separately from the helm kit. Which makes me think that even if the cable can't be serviced, the helm unit should be able to be cleaned out. There is indeed a lot of gummed up grease at the end of the cable. If I disconnect it from the helm, I should be able to tell whether it's the cable (in which case it needs replaced), the helm (which should be able to be disassembled and cleaned), or both. Just gotta figure out how it all goes together. Time for some googlin'.

 

[nola mike]

BTW - Cable can be removed from the helm. A new kit has a loose cable and replacement cables can be bought.

Ya beat me to it...

 

[5150abf]

I have taken the cable out of the boat, put one end in a large plastic bag and elevate it, zip tied mine to the rafters in the garage.

Fill the bag with oil and let gravity work, you can work the cable in and out to help things along too.

It worked ok but ended up replacing it anyhow.

 

[roscoe]

You can remove the cable.
But you can't open up the helm. It is riveted together, it is non serviceable.

If the helm doesn't spin with the cable removed, it needs to be replaced.

 

[nola mike]

Perfect. Sounds like a plan. I'll troubleshoot at some point and report back

 

[DRCrowe]

I had Detmar cables in my boat. Detmar is out of business. So, I tried every trick that I have read in this post. I'm as cheap as they come and was determined to revive my cables. I think I ended up making them worse! I now have a hydraulic seastar system. It it awesome. Consider yourself lucky that you can still get a replacement cable for your system! I always read guys who could revive their cables, maybe you will get lucky with yours!