steering cable problem

[First time Fisher]

I have read similar posts, and I am still having a problem. I have a 89 Mercury25 HP. and the boat has been sitting for 8 yrs. I couldnt move the wheel or the motor.I removed the steering wheel, unhooked the steering arm,greased the zirk fittings and got the motor to move. I got the steering housing to pull out of the tilt tube but not all the way, and I cannot pull the solid arm out from the other side of the tilt tube. What can I do.?

 

[j_martin]

Re: steering cable problem

I have read similar posts, and I am still having a problem. I have a 89 Mercury25 HP. and the boat has been sitting for 8 yrs. I couldnt move the wheel or the motor.I removed the steering wheel, unhooked the steering arm,greased the zirk fittings and got the motor to move. I got the steering housing to pull out of the tilt tube but not all the way, and I cannot pull the solid arm out from the other side of the tilt tube. What can I do.?

You may have to pick the motor off the boat to get enough clearance to pull the shift cable out. Use a cherry picker or the nearest oak tree.

Search this site for steering cable lubrication. If you can get it to move, and it isn't totally rusted out, just gummy from old lube, you may be able to resurrect it for little cost.

hope it helps
John

 

[First time Fisher]

Re: steering cable problem

John,
I have the motor out and on a stand and I have been spraying wd40 to loosen it up. Is it safe for me to believe that the solid arm off the trim tube should move in and out? When I swivel it around, the cable spins in the housing, then that isnt gummed up right?
Thanks again for the help. I have pics I'm trying to upload, too big.

 

[j_martin]

Re: steering cable problem

I just remembered, on some of the older cable sets on the smaller motors, the cable end is slightly larger than the cable rod, and screws on. It will not go through the tilt tube.

I got my first boat with a 20 on it pretty cheap because a "mechanic" trying to take the motor off for winter storage beat the end into the tube, then declared that it was junk and abandoned the project. I was able to get a clevis onto the eye, jerk it back out with a slap hammer, took the end off, disassembled it, and replace the now wrecked tilt tube. A little doctoring with a mill file and the end eye was even OK.

If the rod is stuck fast in the tilt tube, then lots of WD40, and an occasional light tap or two and maybe twisting a little on the end should get it loose. Worst case, you'll have to split the clamp and remove the tilt tube with the steering rod in so you can get at it with some serious heat.

maybe it'll help
John

 

[j_martin]

Re: steering cable problem

On the pics. Load them into any editor, like the one that comes with a camera or the cd-rom drive, resize them to 640 x 480 or so, and save in jpeg (jpg) format with a 50% or so quality rating. jpeg is a compressed file. The less quality you need, the more info it can throw away.

You can also set the camera to 640 x 480, or maybe even 320 x 240.

hope it helps
John

 

[First time Fisher]

Re: steering cable problem

Thanks John, will try your ideas and get the pics posted soon.