:money: I think any one who uses there boat in salt water will have this problem. I have replaced 4 tellflex systems in the last 6 years, the key is when you replace it greese the shaft well and every componet , make sure your greese fittings are clear and suply greese , if not replace them and lube every 20 hrs . also shoot some silicone lube into your steering box every 20 hrs. this will give some longer life to the system and save you some time & $$$$$$

Like I said earlier in this thread....get a Steersman Nut. They are sold in West marine and most other marine supply houses. They are a nut, with a grease fitting in them that replaces the large nut on the end of the tilt tube. If you use the grease fitting in the tilt tube you are NOT lubing your cable, only the tilt tube itself. By using a Steersman Nut you actually lube your cable itself, not the tilt tube. Since most cable failures occur within the first 3 feet of the cable (going from the engine side of the cable) keeping that section properly greased will add years and years to the life of the cable. The cost of the nut is cheap compared to the cost of a new cable and the time required to replace it.

There's not much you can do to save an already corroded cable, but once you have replaced the cable using one of these nuts just plain makes sense.

By the way... a long time ago these nuts were also known as Widget Nuts... so some of you may know them by that name... but now they are called Steersman Nuts.

Destroyer you are 100% on target with that fitting nut , they realy do help with a tight water seal and keeping things well greased. I got mine from DEFENDERS in CT