Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

[Over30S130]

I don't know if this in in the right section ,but here goes anyway. I have a 1979 Ranger 168V that I recently acquired. I was checking things out and noticed the the steering was stiff so I greased all points on motor with no luck. Still have to use two hands to turn wheel-don't think this is normal given the fact that it is on the trailer at the moment, but that 's another story as I have found some options on here already to address that problem. In the process of watching the steering rod work back and forth while pushing and pulling the motor, I noticed that there was another cable/rod just laying in the transom that operates in the same direction as the one connected to the engine. The previous owner had mentioned that a motor swap was done-it currently has 1990 Evinrude 120 V4 mounted right now. At first I thought that the extra cable might have been the original that might have been left in due to being frozen and the PO did not want to bother to remove it ,but then I quickly noticed that it was not frozen and moved. Could the transplanted motor have required a specific cable/shaft to account for there now being two cables and he just didn't want to bother to remove/snake/cut the old one out? If so, then why are they both hooked up to the steering wheel? At first I thought, maybe the motor takes two cables to turn such as in a push/pull type steering, but they both operated in the same direction and I did not see anywhere else on the motor to secure an additional cable for lack of a better term for say a 'dual assist steering', if there was such a thing. Anybody have any ideas as to why this is? As a side note, while working the steering, I did see some water come out of the motor end of the extra steering rod which may answer somewhat why my steering is difficult. I have not disconnected the one rod from the motor to help narrow it down to motor/cable/steering box, but have a pretty good idea it's not in the motor swivel. Boat has not been used in quite a while. Stumped on this one.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

Welcome to iboats

You have a dual cable system (common in bass boats for control) and it sounds as if you do not have the proper connector to accommodate dual cables on the motor.

Take a look at this http://www.iboats.com/Dual-Cable-Si...97635010--**********.019658292--view_id.40161

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

Dual cables are used in applications with engines over 150 horsepower.

If water came out the extra cable, there is a good chance that it is starting to rust inside. It might be worth disconnecting it at the helm and seeing if that helps the steering.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

dual cable steering is because a single cable is typically NOT rated for use on engines larger than 150 HP OR hulls that exceed 50 MPH.
one of your cables is failing OR the swivel bushings are tight on the engine.
sounds like someone did a backyard butcher swap on the engine.

 

[mike343]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

Sounds more like the steering cable was replaced but not completely removed when the engine was changed.

 

[Over30S130]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

Thanks for the suggestions so far. The boat was practically acquired for free-traded. One man's junk is another's treasure they say. The owner offered up as much information about the boat on his own. More info. could have been acquired through the right questions, but it was an 'as is condition' trade so I didn't push it. Based on the comments so far, I'm thinking that the boat originally must have come with a bigger motor that required dual steering or had dual steering capabilities and the current motor does not. If anyone knows what engine basically came stock on a '78-'79 Ranger 168V when purchased new back then, then we might would have a more probable answer to this coupled with the fact the the steering helm looks of age and both cables are hooked up underneath the console-don't know how many horsepower options were available back then. the facia of the console has a homemade wood dash panel with some make-shift switches-most definitely 'backyard'. So who only knows if this is the original wheel and steering linkage even though it looks the age of the boat and not the current transplanted motor-motor apprears to be in really good shape-boat has just been sitting outside on trailer, but not that bad either considering the year-make. I did not see any water come out of the rod hooked to the motor and the water was not at all rusty. I had to double check to make sure it wasn't some kind of pnuematic fluid that might have been leaking out. If it all is tied into the steering wheel, then I'm with Frank, sitting water in a closed cable system can't be helping. I will have to disconnect at the motor to know for sure. Can I disconnect the one cable not in use from the helm and still keep a closed system? Right now I'm thinking a whole new steering box and cable would be the way to go, but I just had to know why the cuurent set-up is the way it is. Thanks guys for the input. This is my teenage son's boat. He negotiated the whole thing on his own through Craig's List by swapping a fourwheeler that was practically given to him. It was his decision, so the least I can do is help him fix it up. Hey, some of the best boats are those that are paid for already, right?

 

[NYBo]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

I take it the capacity placard is missing. I don't think too many outboards over 150 HP were made back in 1979, and bass tournament rules back then limited HP to 150, I believe. So I would guess it was originally equipped with, you guessed it, a 150.:redface:

 

[Over30S130]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

I have not really looked and did not readily notice a placard-I'll be sure to look when I get a chance. If the limit was 150 back then and dual cables are for over 150, then the question is still "why do have two?". This doesn't really have to be answered-just real curious.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

It probably had a 150 on it, and the dual rack steering is needed for stability, not redundancy. The two cables are adjusted so they slightly fight each other and take all the backlash out. About 1/8 inch of lash would let the boat go into an uncontrollable chine walk with 150 on it.

The grease fittings on the motor are to lube the tilt tube or the rod end of the steering cable. If too much grease is forced in, it gets into the cable, which is lubricated with a light oil. That wrecks the cable.

They can be cleaned with effort. I've made an adapter to force SeaFoam through the cable with compressed air, followed by 5w30 synthetic motor oil.

Search for threads on the topic here and at Screamandfly.com

 

[cr2k]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

Probably your best and safest option would be to replace the whole system. You can get a complete system at a fairly low price from Teleflex.

 

[Over30S130]

Re: Why does my newly acquired USED boat have TWO steering cables?

Some new info. I just found out about. My son apparrently pick up something from the previous owner's converstation that I missed. Not sure if this is the original motor, but the one prior to this one was a Johnson 200 which probably had the dual cable system for stability/backlash. If I replace with new, is it best to disconnect both old cables from under steering console and pull out through the back, as going forward would be a pain to get the rods in and out of the side of the hull? Installation of new cable in from rear transom and fed toward steering console?