More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

[WA-Newb]

I have been reading on this topic for many hours now...and I guess I am just missing the basics at this point but I really want to give the "luber" method a try to free up my really stiff steering.

First I need to say I am a total newbie (in case you didn't see my name..lol) I don't even know what a tilt tube is yet...and yes I have tried to figure it out. Thought it was part of the steering but now I am seeing it as the bolt that the motor tilts on....sigh.

As for my steering...when I got the boat it had a home made deal in the back that held the steering cable in place.


I found this in under the splashwell (hoping that's the term...lol) and am pretty sure I need to use it instead if it fits.


But I cannot get the metal nut thing (it's an electrical outlet box connecter I believe) over the larger diameter tube.
Does this tube unscrew or come off somehow? Not sure how he (previous owner) got it on if not.


Once I figure all that out it's on to the luber...first I would like to know if my steering cable (ride guide rack and pinion) is a type that can be "lubed" or freed up? I know some don't like the idea of that but it's all I can do at this point.

If a luber setup will work for mine...how do you attach it?
I have seen several versions of the home made luber but still have not seen one attached so not sure how to do that.

My "thinking" is that I make the luber long enough to fit over the two tubes and it screws into the fitting that is pictured.
But if this is the case does the oil / lube cocktail just get pushed through this crimped end under the fitting?

Here is a photo with these questions in case I don't make sense..lol


I am hoping someone can help me out with these as I am eager to finally get this boat out for a test run....was going to do it with the bad steering but thought I may as well try this first. My steering is pretty darn hard and wouldn't seem like much fun for a day on a small lake.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

if your steering is hard, disconnect it from the motor. if the motor turns easy and the steering still turns hard, you may need a new steering cable. if the steering is easy and the motor turns hard you need to look at the motor.

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

The lubers don't work! I have tried several at the shop.Replace the cable

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

I did unhook it from motor and motor turns very easy.
I am definitely unable to afford the new cable so it's either try to lube it or use it as is

Many have had success with the lubing method so if it needs replacing then there isn't much harm in trying I would think.
Just wish I knew how to go about it....I can build the luber, have the compressor and the seafoam etc to go in it...just not sure how to hook the thing up to the cable.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

your trying to get lubricant between the inner cable and the outer sheath. you will figure it out.

steering cables are cheap. http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Parts-Accessories/dm/keywords.steering cable
about the price of one afternoon of boating.

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

your trying to get lubricant between the inner cable and the outer sheath. you will figure it out.

steering cables are cheap. http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Parts-Accessories/dm/keywords.steering cable
about the price of one afternoon of boating.

If going out for a day is gonna cost me $120-$180 then I will be rowing us out....lol
Cheap to me would be like $10...maybe even up to $50 would be worth doing but I would need to wait and see if it runs / floats first before that big purchase...lol

I know a boat will have cost's and I will lose money on this..but I don't want to throw money into something that may not even run.
The motor has only been started once in who knows how many years...the lower unit is probably going to fill up with milk again...the transom could be completely gone....who know what else...lol

So that's why I really want to try the lube method...and once I undersrtand how the cable is put together it will be easier for me I think.

I am even considering taking the sheathing off...covering the cable with something (if needed) and running it through PEX tubing to see if that would work.
Doesn't sound like it should be hard to make something that will work for 10 trips or so...but again I don't even know what a tilt tube is yet...lol

Thanks for the link though...it's bookmarked.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

you need to make sure the engine runs, and is sealed before you even consider going out.

 

[westexasrepublic]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

this is all terrible advice, disconnect that home rig the previous owner made up and rig it right using the part you found under the splash well, that part connects to the stationary motor bracket in front then your cable rod slides through it and ties to the motor using a swivel rod. Google pictures of your motor or similar motors mounted correctly and you will see the right way.

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

Google pictures of your motor or similar motors mounted correctly and you will see the right way.

I have been looking for pictures since I got the boat
This does make me wonder though...is steering more a part of the motor or more a part of the boat?

I would assume it was like a car...you wouldnt change the steering console or anything if you went from a V6 to a V8 (but maybe you would need to upgrade some parts if you shoved a V8 in a 4 cylinder car).

I have been searching for photos of my boat...as well as my motor but primarliy my boat.
I was hoping the motors manual I bought would have steering in it but no luck.

Also..westex. Got a question about your signature.
The question; polyester or epoxy...your answer is epoxy.
I was just reading that if you are going over old poly you should stick with poly instead of epoxy....any truth to that in your opinion?
Something about one will stick to another but not vice versa.

 

[westexasrepublic]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

first google search has this picture. pretty common steering. goes with almost any boat set up with an outboard.



use epoxy it will stick

 

[redjmp]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

So you should be able to disconnect the cable at the motor and pull it completely out of the jacket.
Turn the wheel to push out as much as you can and until the wheel spins freely then just pull hard and the cable should come all the way out.
Spray some wd40 or what ever you have into the jacket and onto the cable to loosen up the dried out grease and take a wire brush to the cable.
Reinsert and remove the cable a few times into the jacket to try and get as much of the gunk out.
Now squirt some oil into the jacket and apply a good coat of grease to the cable and you should be good.
Everything goes into the part you found and it should tighten at the end of the jacket. The other end should have a rubber boot that lets the rod slide in and out but prevents water from getting in. That is why you have problems in the first place.
Without that part that you found, I don't see how the cable is anchored to the boat!
I would try to install into the tilt tube as Westexas suggests.
The inside of that tube is probably rusty though and you might have to run a drill bit in from each side to clean out the rust.
All you need to find is a steering arm and a grease nut for the end of the tube.

As for your milky lower unit... a cheap fix is to pour atf into the lower unit in between outings and over the winter.
Atf swells rubber and will fix your leak until you can afford to have a shop change the seals.... Don't run it with atf ....
This is a fix for all the old red stripe mercs with plain steel driveshafts. After a while the seals wear a groove into the shaft that even new seals won't fix. Atf over the winter will fix em!

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

Wow..thanks for that detailed reply

So you should be able to disconnect the cable at the motor and pull it completely out of the jacket.

Took me a while to figure this one out...wasn't sure wht the jacket was other than the cable cover and thought I was missing something since I knew I couldn't just pull the cable out.
I think I need to do the step below first...

I stopped by a boat place todayl and asked him how hard it is to take the cable out of the stern end (rack), he said it was pretty easy and nothing needed to come a part to get it out. Just a 5/16 nut on the end of the rack unit and the coupler that is holding the cable to the rack. After that it's just a matter of getting to all the ubolt clamps that are holding the cable sleeve in place.

I now have the cable un-bolted from the motor...been spraying PB Blaster around the compressed fitting where the nut sits and around the inside of the larger diameter tube (the smaller tube goes into the larger one which bolts to the motor).

It actually did get a bit easier already..definitely not good but easier none the less.

I also stopped by another boat dealer / marine shop and asked if they had any of these types of cables on had...he told me that he rarely ever see's a cable that needs replacing and they almost always work like new after cleaning and lubing them. Only time they should be replaced is when they are broke or damaged which will cause a break.
I aksed him what he would charge and it was $80 - $120...still out of my budget but good to know.

While out and about I looked at other boats and see what the tilt tube is now first hand...haven't been back to the boat yet to look over my setup again since though.

Then when I got home I found this link to Teleflex kits:
http://teleflex.ru/upload/files/catalog/msru/Connection Kits.pdf

With that I can see that my setup without a tilt tube is normal for older outboards
Looks like the PO was trying to make a splashwell connection.

Also Red...About the ATF in lower unit
You say to leave it in over the winter...any idea on how long until it "may" start working?
Wondering if I would see any results in say a month? I have new oil in there right now and havent ren it yet but am sure it will be mikly again (that's just how it goes with me..lol)

Thanks again..I will have more later today when I get back from the boat.

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

Once again I forgot the "insert a bad word here" camera so had to make my own pics when I got home...but I am at another problem spot and hoping someone can shed some light.
I hooked up the transom mount tube after cleaning it out...threaded the securing nut to it and started to connect it to the motor.

First problem...
I have to really pull up on the cable end to get it to go through into the connecting bolt on the motor.
This causes a bad bend / bind right at the end of the jacket. This is likely what the PO did to bend the cable...or he tilted it while it was hooked up (more on that next).

Second...
if I were to bolt the transom mount firmly to the boat and bolt the cable to the motor there would be no way to tilt the motor without bending the cable...and even then when the motor is tilted the connection bolt (to cable) goes down...causing the other end (by splashwell) to raise up. There is not enough room in that hole for this to happen even if I wanted to force it.
Just by looking at this once it was semi in place I could tell this would cause a bend to happen if not worse.

I am thinking now this is why the PO used the flexible PVC boot to attach the cable to the splashwell...that had give in it since it was mounted to the rubber boot. He probably tried the transom mount and knew it wouldn't work so made his own.

SO...is there a solution to this...am I still missing a piece..or am I just outta luck?
I did not see anything else on the diagrams I found of the transom mount kits.

I could possible use a longer connecting bolt at the cable / motor with a tube for a spacer to lower the cable a bit but not sure if this is the proper way to do this.

Again I wish I could see a mount like this in action so I would know what it is supposed to do.
Sorry for the below attempt at recreating the problem..I am not that great with photoshop but hopefully it will give you the idea of what's going on.

 

[oldman570]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

Once again I forgot the "insert a bad word here" camera so had to make my own pics when I got home...but I am at another problem spot and hoping someone can shed some light.
I hooked up the transom mount tube after cleaning it out...threaded the securing nut to it and started to connect it to the motor.

First problem...
I have to really pull up on the cable end to get it to go through into the connecting bolt on the motor.
This causes a bad bend / bind right at the end of the jacket. This is likely what the PO did to bend the cable...or he tilted it while it was hooked up (more on that next).

Second...
if I were to bolt the transom mount firmly to the boat and bolt the cable to the motor there would be no way to tilt the motor without bending the cable...and even then when the motor is tilted the connection bolt (to cable) goes down...causing the other end (by splashwell) to raise up. There is not enough room in that hole for this to happen even if I wanted to force it.
Just by looking at this once it was semi in place I could tell this would cause a bend to happen if not worse.

I am thinking now this is why the PO used the flexible PVC boot to attach the cable to the splashwell...that had give in it since it was mounted to the rubber boot. He probably tried the transom mount and knew it wouldn't work so made his own.

SO...is there a solution to this...am I still missing a piece..or am I just outta luck?
I did not see anything else on the diagrams I found of the transom mount kits.

I could possible use a longer connecting bolt at the cable / motor with a tube for a spacer to lower the cable a bit but not sure if this is the proper way to do this.

Again I wish I could see a mount like this in action so I would know what it is supposed to do.
Sorry for the below attempt at recreating the problem..I am not that great with photoshop but hopefully it will give you the idea of what's going on.

View attachment 151089

View attachment 151090

View attachment 151091

Chris; You really need to get the mount shown in your last post for everthing to work correct. Look at the mount posted and you can see it has a swilvel ball built into it that lets everything move freely. The only other way would be to build a mount with Hime joints to do the same thing. The cost of Hime joints and them not being made of stainless steel will cause trouble latter as they rust. The mount shown will let the motor sivele and motor tilt as you need.
Look at post made in the "boat topics (not Engine Repair) list as there are several post there for the same trouble you are havingand others there could have other suggestions.
Oldman570

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

Ok..I went and got a little video and a few photos before it starterd to dump rain.
Wanted to do more but since the cameras cost more than the boat I had to call it quits.
Hopefully these will give you all an idea of what is going on...maybe it's fine...I don't know.

Also..I had it backwards on my last post. It seems to be a better and easier connection when the motor is tilted...the cable seems to connect without the sharp bend but when the motor is down (running position) that is when it would bend.

When I pull up on the cable to connect to the motor. Since the cable is heading down and then back up to the motor it causes this bend right at the coupler.


Even pulling up pretty hard I still have a little ways to go...didn't want to connect it since I was worried about bending the cable. This is where I was thinking a longer bolt on the motor connection would possibly work to lower the connecting point.


Here is the cable in the natural position without me prying it up to connect it to the motor. If I tilted the motor up the connection would lower enough for me to connect it...but then when I lowered the motor the tight becnd / bind would happen.


This is how the cable goes up over a hump and then back down and out through the splashwell hole...but then needs to go back up again to attach to the motor. If this hole was up higher or wider I think it would work better...or if the cable didn't make the trip up and then back down.


Just added a couple lines to this one to show the angles of the cable vs. the transom mount tube when I am trying to hook the cable up to the motor.

 

[redjmp]

Re: More info and help needed on steering cable luber - free up hard to turn steering

Ok I see what's going on.
To fix your problem, you need to mount the bracket (fulcrum) further away from the motor and as close to the splashwell as you can.
Undo the 2 nuts on the tube and spin them back to the end of the tube to move the bracket.
This will reduce the up and down travel of the cable end.
You also want to mount it lower on the transom so that the cable is near the bottom of the hole when the motor is down.
Center the motor and the wheel before mounting the bracket.
This way you have lots of room for the cable to go up when you tilt up the motor.

The atf trick takes a while...
Fwiw, I had on old '65 65hp with the steel shaft and it wouldn't hold oil at all.
Run through a 6 gallon tank of gas and the lower unit would be full of water even with new seals. I mean no oil left at all!
It ran like this for 2 years, maybe 30 outings with no damage but I drained all the water out every time and filled it with fresh lube right away so that rust wouldn't form and it held out with out grenading.
In fact everything still felt smooth...
I sold the boat like that but later read about the atf trick.
However I remember using it to fix a leaky power steering pump on my old CO1950B Cornbinder. Took a cup and added it to my ps fluid and the leak was fixed in about a month. Then I drained all the fluid and replaced with clean ps fluid so the the rubber wouldn't keep swelling.
Mind you it was just weeping but enough to fail inspection. Atf fixed me for $5 instead of the $1800 my diesel shop wanted.
I have also read about guys just pumping grease into the lower unit which wont just drain out like oil can...