frozen steerting

[Clint3240]

my steering is frozen but before i just had some1 help me work it back and forth by pushing outdrive and turning wheel and would work great all day and then sit for a week and now its back...any ideas? with the engine shut off i can move the wheel a inch or so and hear the cable in the transome. i put 6-56 on the piston there but that didnt do much, i dont have anyone to give me a hand with it right now so im just trying to figure out what the problem is and fix it for good. thanks

 

[Don S]

Re: frozen steerting

What are you working on? What kind of drive, year?
On many, the problem is the stainless steel cable end corroding inside the aluminum tube that it's attached to.

 

[Clint3240]

Re: frozen steerting

its a 90s 350 merc, power steering. not sure about the out drive

 

[Don S]

Re: frozen steerting

 

[Clint3240]

Re: frozen steerting

so when i take all of that i guess ill clean it/oil, replace whatever is damadged?

 

[Don S]

Re: frozen steerting

There isn't a lot to take off. Remove the pin, and unscrew the nut that holds the cable to the tube. THen pull it out. Clean the tube out, grease it up with some thin waterproof grease and put it back together.
The hard part may be pulling it out of the tube the first time. Some heat on the tube with a propane torch and tapping on the end of the cable with a wooden dowl rod nomally does the trick if they move a little bit.

 

[Bondo]

Re: frozen steerting

Ayuh,......

When you get it apart,......

Try turning the Helm,+ Cable by themselves,.....It should be a No Effort kinda thing....

They don't last Forever either.........

 

[Clint3240]

Re: frozen steerting

i removed the nut and pin for the cable and the outdrive moves fine and the wheel turns fine, i just got to try and get that camb tube apart

 

[Don S]

Re: frozen steerting

You don't take the tube apart, you just pull the cable out of it. Like I said in #6 above,

The hard part may be pulling it out of the tube the first time. Some heat on the tube with a propane torch and tapping on the end of the cable with a wooden dowl rod nomally does the trick if they move a little bit.

 

[Clint3240]

Re: frozen steerting

i turned the wheel and the cable pulled back but the rod stayed there, is that normall? from what it looks like your saying its all suppoosed to move together