Frozen Steering

[Rockfish9]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

Ah the fun of boats. Been there done that. All good advise above. I take the whole thing apart every fall and reassemble every spring. Worth the extra work IMO. I also changed over to hydraulic, Baystar, and like it. I had to hone out the tube though. Full of rust. I still take it apart every fall and I fill tube with grease and plug both ends in the fall. Honda 90. Good luck Rich

This is THE only way to deal with the problem, maintenance is the best medicine,the root of the problem starts with the seal on the tilt tube, which is designed to keep out water, but only does so minimumly, the seal wipes off all grease and lubricant, but does nothing or little to stop the water from infiltrating the shaft,tilt tube and cable, steering cables are made in 3 pieces, the outer sheith, a cable and a push rod, which is attached to the cable and slides inside the tilt tube, the push rod is the problem, removing the cable each fall and cleaning and re lubing the cable, and push rod is THE only way to end the spring misery....

to free it up, remove the steeing link and install 3/8 bolt in the end of the push rod to keep from crushing the hole, spray the rod with rust penetrant, which is thinnner than most oils and close to the consistancy of water, have and assitant apply pressure via the steering wheel and using a block of wood to protect the rod use a heavy hammer give several sharp blows to the end of the rod( protected by the block of wood) lighter hammers do more damage than heavy ones.. depending on the degree of the seizure, this can take some serious time...once it moves, try working it back the other way, some become so siezed/rusted that you can only drive them one way and removal of the entire cable may be needed... .I'v only seen one that was impossible to get out, that one required removal of the tilt tube...

BTW... the bay star system is awesome, I went to it about 5 years ago.. I'll never have cable steering gain...

[Rick Ackley]

Honest guys. Try the 2x4 lever method before you attempt any banging. You can add a lot of force with a 6' piece of lumber.

[Rockfish9]

Originally Posted by Rick Ackley

Honest guys. Try the 2x4 lever method before you attempt any banging. You can add a lot of force with a 6' piece of lumber.

you also can bend the push arm, trying to apply pressure with a "strong arm" is very difficult in this application, I've seen people put holes in thier boats trying to do just that... if you bend that rod you are now looking at a serious problem....and will HAVE to replace the tilt tube and cable, which means lifting the motor with a crane or engine hoist...the shock of the hammer blow, even through the wooden block is what frees the steering, it would take 3 times the force applied in a steady pull to have the same effect....as long as you put the bolt in the hole and use a block of wood, no harm will come to the push shaft...

[macojoe]

That cable is junk at this point!!

Spray the crap out of it then add a bit of heat and drive it out of there, after it is out clean tube, and add new cable, then follow advice about pulling it out in the fall!