Telescoping arm tight

[Milksnake12]

I'm trying to get an old '73 Fiberform back in the water. I discovered the steering was very tight and narrowed it down to the telescoping arm the moves the motor back and forth. When I unscrew the bolt on the starboard side of the arm and turn the wheel, a rod goes in and out smoothly. But when put the bolt back on that forces the cable to drive the other end out of the tube and actually move the motor, it is very tight (disconnected from motor, the motor turns easily by hand). I removed the rubber end cap and there was a plastic bushing in there that cracked apart. My questions are is this telescoping part removable from the cable and if so, how can I get it off (with the hopes of identifying and fixing the issue if possible)? Or is this an issue that would require the whole steering system to be replaced?

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome aboard, Mike.

The rod through the tube is not removable, it's part of the cable. To remove the tube, first take off the clevis on the end of the cable and undo the nut pointed at by the arrow. Then slide the tube off the cable.

Do you have the anchor clamp that fits on the ball under the arrow and clamps on the discolored area on the tube? The tube needs to be anchored to work properly.

 

[gm280]

First of all, what supports the steering cable at the transom? I don't see anything attacked to the steering cable at all. I figured since you don't have a tilt-tube engine setup, you are using some other attachment for your steering. Usually there is an attachment at the transom that allows for both the steering tube to slide in and out and also an ability to tilt the engine when traveling to and from the water. I don't see that setup. And that makes the steering cable angle fighting against itself making it steer hard. And I think that is one of your problems.

I had an older setup like that and since I had to buy a new steering cable assembly for my stick steering setup, I bough their tilt tub type add on. It looks like that attached picture. Seems that would satisfy your problem as well. JMHO

 

[Milksnake12]

I took the end piece that connects to the motor off and tried pulling the tub off but it hits a spot where it stops. Not sure if I'm trying to take this off correctly.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2ofEJAsHYzVJ9Eo79 for a video