frozen steering

infinity22 · 07-14-2009, 04:45 PM

Having never dealt with outboards much what is the best way to get the end of the steering rod out of the motor. It's on a 115 merc outboard. It is frozen solid inside the tube. Any help would be appreciated. I already tried a hammer on the end of the cable and it didn't budge!!

Elk Mania · 07-14-2009, 05:50 PM

it's very easy get a sawzall with a metal blade cut just before the large set nut the unscrew the little nut on the other side and pull that section out under u helm unbolt the bar or use the cotter key and put in the hole on the spindle and pull cable out depending on model. next step is VERY IMPORTANT !!!! tape line to one end and pull through when u pull cable out out of boat this is so u can guide the cable back though don't do this you'll have to pull decks up to finish that would suck pm me if u need help you'll get the hang of it easy takes about 1.5 hours

infinity22 · 07-14-2009, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elk Mania

it's very easy get a sawzall with a metal blade cut just before the large set nut the unscrew the little nut on the other side and pull that section out under u helm unbolt the bar or use the cotter key and put in the hole on the spindle and pull cable out depending on model. next step is VERY IMPORTANT !!!! tape line to one end and pull through when u pull cable out out of boat this is so u can guide the cable back though don't do this you'll have to pull decks up to finish that would suck pm me if u need help you'll get the hang of it easy takes about 1.5 hours

I think a picture would tell me a little better. It's in a dory so pulling the floorboards isn't a big deal!

kigercreek · 07-14-2009, 06:39 PM

I just dealt with this with my 40 HP Merc a couple weeks ago. I guess Mercs are known for the problem. I unhooked the linkage and slipped a bolt into the resulting hole in the steering rod so that any hammering would not elongate the hole. Just in front of that area the rod is swaged; I took a pipe wrench to that area and began, with force, working the rod until it would spin a little. I kept at it until it loosened up substanitally so that I could get the rod to move when hammered from the end. Keeping with that pattern I freed up the frozen rod. Was a pain, but works like a dream now.

infinity22 · 07-15-2009, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kigercreek

I just dealt with this with my 40 HP Merc a couple weeks ago. I guess Mercs are known for the problem. I unhooked the linkage and slipped a bolt into the resulting hole in the steering rod so that any hammering would not elongate the hole. Just in front of that area the rod is swaged; I took a pipe wrench to that area and began, with force, working the rod until it would spin a little. I kept at it until it loosened up substanitally so that I could get the rod to move when hammered from the end. Keeping with that pattern I freed up the frozen rod. Was a pain, but works like a dream now.

Hey there, i am going to try that. I did not put a bolt in the hole before i hammered on the end of the steering rod so as a result the hole is really messed up. I will try the pipe wrench tomorrow and see if it freeze it up. Thanks for the help!! At any rate i am going to replace the steering cable once i get the old one out of the motor! thanks again.....

Lou · 07-15-2009, 02:41 PM

Be sure to really clean that tube out and put a new zerk on it.
It's probably going to be rough (inside). I used a dowel rapped
with 200 grit and rigged it up to my drill. That was 8 years ago and
still going!

KChookem · 07-18-2009, 06:18 PM

You can do a search and get further info and opinions, but here is mine, and I've dealt with a number of steering cables issues.

Use a large, course, and long rat-tail file to clean out the tilt tube. Brad Allen, Allen Marine Center, gave me this advice, and it was so much faster and better than sandpaper on a stick.

The service technicians at Teleflex state that you SHOULD NOT use grease or oil lube fittings on the end of the shaft - eventually that causes hydraulic lock. I used grease at one time, and when the cable failed, I cut the cable up, and found dried grease literally half way up a 17-ft cable. Now I follow the advice of the manufacturer, and twice a year (saltwater use), I pull the cable end out of the tilt tube, and LIGHTLY coat the stainless steel cable ends with a "white grease".

Now there are people who state that using grease or oil works for them, but in my case it did not.

iwanttofish · 07-19-2009, 12:06 PM

I am doing the same on my 115 now, it has been a pain. I have to put a new rotary steering control in also. Mine will not turn all the way now even with the cable out of it only two full rotations that is it so I can not put the new cable in.

I got mine out of the tilt tube with a pipe wrench and wd40.

I got a tilt tube reamer so I can clean it out.

boblad · 07-22-2009, 10:34 PM

I just had the same issue with my six year old Honda 90 hp outboard. It sat most of last winter with the steering rod retracted and I should've known better and at least exercised the steering every few months or at least turned the motor so the thick part of the cable end wasn't in contact with the inner wall of the tilt tube.

After days of soaking in Kroil and Power Blaster penetrating oil, light tapping and an air hammer wouldn't budge it. I got medieval with a brass hammer to avoid swaging the rod end and got it to move with a lot of persuasion. Once the rod end was inside the tube, I used a series of brass drifts made from bolts with the heads cut off. I finally got the cable out and after cleaning and polishing it was reusable. I cleaned the inside of the tilt tube with a 12 gauge shotgun brush and finished it with a number of cylinder hones of differing grits matched to the bore (probably overkill). Water had gotten in there and froze it up where the thick part of cable end laid up against the inner wall of the tilt tube. Probably because the o-ring on the rod end was shot. Several small rust chips had broken off and wedged themselves between the tube and the cable end explaining the slow movement of the cable once it got a little loose. My marina suggested using waterproof grease, the same used on trailer hubs, to rebuild it. It works great now although I don't like knowing how rusty the inside of the tilt tube was. I suppose I'll repeat this process once a year now. Getting pushed off the dock and discovering frozen steering was no fun.