Loosening a seized part?

[deanmcneill]

A bushing, part of the steering, of my '79 merc 7.5hp is practically seized.

See the pic attached (part colored red for clarity). It moves if I twist it with vice grips but it's too hard to twist to work well in use. The teeth are good so I'm hoping I don't have to replace the part. I can't seem to figure out how to remove the part (manual doesn't help), so I'm shooting Liquid Wrench to it.... but it's a long way from being free enough to work well.

Any suggestions on how to get it out OR free it up so it turns easy?

 

[scrdanis]

Re: Loosening a seized part?

Doesn't look to have a seal associated with it so I would try a little heat on it and see how that works for you. Don't breathe the liquid wrench is it smokes off the part when the heat is added.

 

[deanmcneill]

Re: Loosening a seized part?

Got it! Took some work to get all the related parts disassembled, but once I did, the steering piece was just pressure fit into place....had a fair share of salt and built up corrosion on it. A good cleamning and some gentle sanding and all is good!

I do have an issue with the Flush channel in the engine being blocked with salt... can't seem to unblock that, tried water, CLR, a strong wire and even a coat hanger. Any ideas?