Frozen steering

[dparsley63]

I'm working on a 115HP Yamaha outboard that has frozen steering. It appears that the gimbal mount is badly corroded. Just wondering what the best approach would be to get this thing to move again?

My approach is to soak the shaft with P.B.'Laster and let it soak for a while, then disconnect the steering cable from the engine and try to move it by hand.

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: Frozen steering

Be very careful or you will make it worse. Disconnect the tie bar from the motor to the end of the cable. Unscrew the big nut on the starboard side of the motor. Do not strike the end of the cable with anything hard or you will mushroom the cable end and you will never get it out. Forgot to mention, if there isn't at least two feet of clearance to remove the cable, you will need to remove the engine. Using a piece of brass against the cable, hit the brass with a big hammer and hopefuly it will start moving back into the tube, keep driving it untill it flush, then use a rod to drive it thru and out the other side. Then use a steering tube brush on a drill to clean out the tube. After everything is clean, grease and reassemble.

 

[dparsley63]

Re: Frozen steering

Thanks for the information on repairing this thing. I got the motor unstuck, and greased liberally, but the steering wheel is still very difficult to turn without the motor being connected. I removed the steering cable link from the tiller extension, and it was still very stiff turning the wheel. I tried using PB'laster to lube the TeleFlex shaft but I don't see any method of getting the penetrant into the cable from either the wheel end or the engine end. There is a warning on the wheel end about not disassembling the unit and must replace with a new item. So I didn't remove and disassemble that component till I had more knowledge on it's inner workings. Is there any sort of grease injector that is available for lubing this steering cable?

 

[hopalong]

Re: Frozen steering

If this motor/boat has been used in salt water or is very old, or has been subjected to a lot of water to the ends of the cable the teleflex cable outer jacket cover may have developed cracks and salt/water/air will get into the cable and corrosion starts inside the cable on the strands. The inner cable will not move easily inside of the outer cover.You should disconnect the teleflex cable and remove it for inspection. The cable end at the steering unit can usually be disconnected without interfering with the steering unit itself.
Usually the only fix if the cable is stuck/binding due to corrosion is to replace the cable. Even IF you loosen the cable up most likey some of the cable's strands inside may be corroded/broken inside which may cause the cable to eventually break and you may not have any steering! Dangerous situation....best to just replace it. Note, the inner cable is not a solid rod, it is stranded cable