how do I know if my steering is too tight, and if it is... what do I need to do to fix it?
I greased both grease fittings at the back near the motor. but it's stillpretty tight.

is it tight sitting on the trailer??

if so, this is what i did on mine, pull the cables out of the tubes. wipe off all the grease, and put some anti-seize on the cable ends. slide em' back in. all should be good. I don't grease my steering cables. grease and dirt is a bad combination.

if you steering is tight when running down the lake, well that's another story. if this is the case. we'll need to know more about what you have. such as what size engine? dual or single cable steering helm? rotary NFB, or rack system?

steve

Thanks steve... I haven't had a chance to get it off the trailer yet, so I'm not sure if it's tight on the water too. I didn't know it mattered.

Mine is tight when it is cold out,but fine on a warm day????

that's exactly why i use anti-seize instead of grease.

Steve---What is anti-seize? Is it a grease/lubricant, what brand? Also what do you mean by pulling the cables out of the tubes? Still say you need to set up another shop here in San Angelo. You would enjoy it every now and then.

One thing you might check is to see if you have a screw under the steering wheel that holds the wheel in place so the motor doesn't turn while trailering. Some older boats have them.

Mine was tight until one day during a tourny. Went to leave the spot I was at and when I turned the wheel, the steering broke. Had to replace the entire system.

Here's my rule of thumb. If you have standard steering, by that I mean you don't have NoFeedBack or Hydralic, While the boat is on the trailer, grab the engine and turn it by hand. If you can turn it by hand, your steering is still good, If it takes two mules and the fat guy down the street, It's time for a replacement. Remember, the harder it is to turn, the higher the possibility is for steering failure, at the worst of times.....

Have seen some with dual cable steering that if you trim the motor up too high the front guide tube for the cable will hit, bending the tube making the steering hard to turn. Good luck

anti-seize is from the auto motive industry. go to your local parts store and get ya some. it comes in small tubes, up to quart cans.
mainly it's used for stainless bolts being put into aluminum. kinda like steering cables..;) sst cable into an aluminum housing.


by pulling the cables out of the tubes, i mean remove the 9/16" bolt from the steering link arm. then grab a cable and pull it out of the tube. spray some carb cleaner or whatever and get all the old nasty grease out of the tubes and the cable end. coat the cable end with anti-seize (use a bunch) and re-instal the cable into the tube. make sense?
i did that with my pro-max. i can turn the wheel with my pinky finger. until i hit about 80mph, then i gotta use both hands.

I had the problem with my old Skeeter. I replaced the steering cable and now you can steer it with a finger and move the motor back and forth on the trailer with ease. It had dual steering cables, I took them off and replaced them with one and it is perfect. Cost was 113.00 for the cable and about an hour job.

Steve, do the cables just pull right out of the helm (is that the correct term???)

I want to make sure I understand before I gubber mine up. Undo the cables at the motor and pull...nothing needs to be done at the other end????

NO... not the helm

on the motor side. the steering tubes. where the cables go in.

steve can you post a picture.............thanks

been looking for pictures. I'm not that computer savy. sorry...

ttt

here's a site that has some pictures--Just scroll half way down,past the sparks..good luck...
http://www.setsail.com/s_logs/dashew/dashew322.html

Thanks Kingdad... good info on that page.

My steering system looks alot like this ( Teleflex Rack system )

Can I still just pull out the cables, clean them up, and grease 'em (or apply anti seize)?

Or should I just buy this kit?

i'm not sure if you completely understand what i'm saying about where to pull the cables out of the steering tubes.

the "rack" system is okay, but tends to have some "play" in it.

if you're going to buy a new kit, get the rotary no feed back. much better system. that's what's in my boat.

p.s. you don't disconnect the steering cables from the steering wheel side. you do it from the motor side. there should be a 9/16" nut. on the steering link arm. remove the nut, pull the link arm up. that releases the cables from the motor. then pull the cables out of the tubes. (sometimes the motor has to be pulled to get them out). then, clean the tubes and cables. put some anti-seize on the cable ends and slide them back into the tubes and reconnect the link arm, and tighten the nut.

hint: after pulling the cables out, turn the steering wheel. if it's much easier to turn. above is your problem. If you pull the cables out, and it's still very hard to turn, i'd replace the entire system with a rotary no feed back system.

good luck.

I tried pulling the cables out yesterday, but couldn't move them. today I went ahead and took out the entire cable, because I noticed one of the rods on the motor side was slightly bent.

I was palnning on just replacing the rack system, I didn't know I could use a rotary, if I can though... I'll definately go that way.

Thanks alot for your help Steve.

If I buy this rotary system, Does it come with everything I need to install it/ Or is there any additional hardware I would need to buy?
Teleflex Rotary system