18 foot steering cable

[steplift20]

I just ordered a 18 foot steering cable for my steplift cuddy does that sound like the right size to you guys ?

[macojoe]

a tad long i think, but should be fine

[steplift20]

17 I think would be to close

[bradford]

17 I think would be to close

Close don't cut it with a steering cable, ask me how I know.

[steplift20]

Ok I'll bite How do you know?
M

[steplift20]

Well just hot my cable delivered and they sent me the wrong size 16 ft so I checked my cable and it's 17 ft So that's being returned and waiting for my 17 ft I hope this solves my hard steering problem I will keep you informed Thanks for all your feed back You guys a great

[steplift20]

Cables out and waiting for my new one my question is this
Should I pack the tube with quick silver 24 c grease the put the rod in the tube or don't put any grease in the tube? Seems like a stupid question but I'm not sure which way to go

[smokeonthewater]

Maybe this will help...

http://www.davisnet.com/product_documents/marine/manuals/0425_IM_LubeII_eng.PDF

[bradford]

Ok I'll bite How do you know?
M

After measuring and remeasuring when rebuilding my 19 foot skiff,the one I ordered with my new helm was 6 inches short. Bought it with the helm so I couldn't return it.

[steplift20]

Smokeonthewater it does help but it doesn't answer my question, but thanks that's a good diagram Should I put quick silver 24 c on the rod cause I don't have that nut pluss I here that the rubber in the nut falls out after awhile

[smokeonthewater]

My suggestion is get the nut and then use oil instead of grease...

Grease is basically oil plus soap.... The oil comes out of the soap in time and dirt gets trapped and things get sticky... Oil only doesn't get sticky.

[steplift20]

Ok smokeonthewater I just want to do it the best way cause my steering was so hard I'm hoping that after I put in the new cable it would be easy
The helm turns easy
When I connect the cable I will turn it again hoping it's east
Then connect the motor so if it's hard even though the motor turns easy then I know where the problem is
I'm hoping it's going to be good, it would be like a new boat to me I'm actually excited amazing how little things get me happy Like turning the wheel Lol

[phatdaddy]

Now that you have the steering system off the motor, can you turn it easily by hand from the rear of the boat. Should be able to stand on the ground and swivel it from side to side.

[Destroyer]

Hmmm... Never seen that Lube-it II nut before. (They do have a nice diagram though) Looks like a half-a$$ed copy of the Steersman nut that I've been telling everyone on this site to get for the last 3+ years. I think I've made at least 5 posts about it. I've had one on every boat I've owned for the last 15 plus years and never had a single failure of a steering cable due to lack of grease. They come in both aluminum (for freshwater use) or Stainless Steel(for Salt Water) and with the proper size threads for every make of engine out there. They have been around for years and used to be called Widgit Nuts. Changed their name several years ago to Steersmen. I've never had the o-ring blow out, and in fact, if properly installed it is just about impossible for it to blow out. But if it does wear out at some point in the far, far future a new one is easy enough to re-install in less than 10 minutes. Might want to look at their web-site. :head:

http://www.steersman.com/index.html#

[Destroyer]

My suggestion is get the nut and then use oil instead of grease...

Grease is basically oil plus soap.... The oil comes out of the soap in time and dirt gets trapped and things get sticky... Oil only doesn't get sticky.

You're correct on grease hardening over time IF it's an automotive type of grease like wheel bearing or chassis grease. The manufacturers of boat steering cables recommend a waterproof marine lithium-based grease to lubricate marine steering cables. Some boat repair mechanics use a Molybdenum grease such as Sta-Lube Extreme Pressure Moly-Graph Multi-purpose grease. Part SL3141

As far as oil goes, it's almost impossible to inject oil into a zerk fitting, however here's a workaround that I found on the Steersman web-site that does the trick.

http://www.steersman.com/html/oil.html