88' OMC Cobra Steering question.

CapnMorgan

Cadet
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Messages
13
hey all. I have a 1988 19' renken Spitfire. It has an OMC Cobra 5.0l chevy v8. I bought the boat as a project and it hasn't been in the water since 2003. When I bought the boat the steering wheel wouldn't turn at all. after tearing into it i found the cable to be seized up. I replaced the cable/helm and now it turns but fairly tight. When the engine is running I can turn it lock to lock with 1 finger but when the engine is off its tight. Is that normal. I've only had 1 other boat with power steering and I don't remember it being so tight, but it had a mercruiser.

When the cable was disconected at the back I was able to move the outdrive easily and didn't feel any abnormal resistance. But now with the new cable installed there's a bit of resistance when I try to move the outdrive by hand. It feels like I'm pushing against a shock absorber, the harder I push the more resistance.

thanks
 
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