Unable to turn motor
 

I removed the lower unit today to change the water pump and realized that the motor would not turn. I assumed the problem was in the cable so I disconnected the nut from the bracket and the steering wheel turned with no problem. The motor, however does not budge. I greased all the fittings and it seemed to build up pressure and the grease did not squeeze out where I normally expect to see it. The motor tilts up and down fine, just not left or right. It was only about a month ago that everything seemed fine and the motor moved fine also.

Any Ideas -

Thanks

Carl

Does the cable move in and out with the turning of the wheel ?

The cable seems to be fine. The wheel and cable move freely.

Carl

what you should do next is
1st pump grease into the fitting on the shaft[then try to move the motor] still dont move
2nd get out the tourch and heat the shaft and as your heating it rock the motor left and right until it breaks loose, it might take some time and also shoot some penertrating oil on the top of the shaft, what i did was install another grease fitting on the top cause no grease would ever come out from the top bot you have to be careful because when i turned the motor it hit the fitting but i had a flush mount fitting that i installed and everything worked out+

I pumped the grease in and tried to move it with no success yesterday. I also put some penetrating oil on the top and hope it works. I am about to go check on it again. I think the 2nd grease fitting is a great idea. I will try the heat idea also.

Do you think a benzomatic type of plumbers torch is hot enough, or is oxyacetelyne needed?

I'll let you know how it all works out.

Thanks

Carl

Normally it's the tilt tube that causes the trouble when the motor won't turn by way of the steering.
Did you disconnect the arm from the steering that goes to the motor yoke (or whatever it's called)?

tsubaki - you just hit the nail on the head. That is one thing I did not do yesterday and the first thing today. I disconnected the steering arm from the yoke or tiller or whatever it is called and the motor turned smoothly. The problem is in the tilt tube.

The steering arm will not budge from within the tilt tube. I again applied grease in the fitting but not much more. I did get the waterpump replaced, the lower unit back on the motor (with a little help from my wife) and fired her up and sent the blue fogging oil smoke throughout the neighborhood.

How do I go about fixing a stuck steering arm in the tilt tube??

Thanks

Carl

a plumbers tourch is what you want to use

Tapping on the steering arm bolt on location (whatever it is called that the motor arm attaches to) will deform the bolt hole, avoid that as much as possible.
First grab with a pair of Vise Grips, Channel Locks, or pipe wrench (taking care not to booger the shaft up too much) and twist and rotate the shaft (not at the steering arm connection end, it will turn freely).
The torch or a heat gun would be great if you were comfortable using it. I normally reserve that till last on stuff.
Trying everything from penetrating oil to mineral spirits to clean and lubricate the shaft and tube.
They seem to come free easier by applying pressure than whacking it with a hammer.
Finding a good way to push it out by prying with a 2x4 to a point and then incorporate a wood or metal dowel to assist going deeper into the tube would be one suggestion.
If you had the room (usually there's not) for a bottle jack, that would be great. Taking care of how much pressure you're putting on the fiberglass. If you had a (or knew someone) hydraulic ram set that would be a better setup.
Cleaning the tube needs to be aggressive, it has now swollen and needs honing, not just cleaning. I've tried brake honing tools, sand paper on drill bits, etc. One thing my father did on the last one was bought a masonry bit about whatever size the tube inside diameter is. While spraying with penetrating oil and jooging in and out with the drill was able to get it to the needed size.
And will somebody confirm or deny using ONLY marine waterproof grease in this (well all) location.

I've got the same problem as Carl....thanks for posting! I've greased everything and shot with penetrating oil. I may take a whack at fixing it next weekend. Or I may not. I'll report back to this thread if I work on it.

Had the same problem 3 years in a row. Take that sucker out and replace tilt tube with a stainless one. Never been an issue since.

spray the crap out of it and hammer the thing home! clen the tube good and grease the crap out of it, in the fall remove the cable and clean well, clean and grease well and leave apart till spring, thats what i did after the first time and never had a issue again!!
If you really feel like fixing it good replace the tube with a new stainless one, I never under stood why they make them out of steel anyway??

Well I'd say that 99% of the time they fail is because they get neglected and people fail to grease them up as often as needed. My 1994 Johnson 150is so greased up it falls to either side when the motor is raised.

I wouldn't use a torch, rather a heat gun would be better. I went through the same thing this past winter. Heat the tube to get the grease inside more fluid and them you will start seeing grease come out of the bottom probably. You may see it come out of the top (probably not) Bottom more likely. Mine works great now.

oh the steering rod is stuck, ok do this, put a wrench on the end of the rod and move it up and down until it becomes loose shake it not to much just enought to break the grease thats holding it from sliding but a steering tube is probable going to need to be replaced some time but maybe not, its just stuck for now

My motor now turns. It took about 2 hours of manipulating it and spraying penetrating oil in it until it was free. Then I was able to put a whole bunch of grease in the tube and turned the wheel to work the grease all the way through. I appreciate all the input and advice from everyone. It would have taken me a lot longer without your guidance.

Thanks

Carl

Carl, any particular advise that seemed to help the most? Like Steplift20's wrench comment? Did you have to beat or heat on it?

Bumpedy bump bump, bumpedy bump bump...:deer:

Sorry Blue,

Here's what I did - I removed the nut that holds the steering cable to the tilt tube and sprayed WD-40 in the tilt tube. I then removed the large nut on the port side of the tilt tube. The 2 large nuts that hold the tilt tube, are self locking and do not move that easily. That I believe helped in rotating the tilt tube slightly and also spraying the WD-40 I was able to free up the steering cabel inside the tilt tube. I did not see any rust come out of the tilt tube, just a lot of dry grease and dirt. After everything was loose, I fully extended the end of the steering cable (rod end that's in the tilt tube with both sides disconnected) and put grease in the tilt tube and on the end of the steering cable. You can't really get a lot of grease in there, so I did it about 5 times, each time reconnecting the steering cable nut and turning the steering wheel from stop to stop a few times to disperse the grease throughout the tilt tube. I then buttoned everything back up. It took about 2 hours from start to finish.

I can post pictures tonight if that would help.

Carl

They have a oil lube system that I was going to try, but I have Hydraulic steering now.
Problem with grease is that it attracts dirt and holds it, making it a binding grease of its own.
A new SS Tube and a oiling system seems to be the way to go.

Thanks for the info Carl. Doesn't look like I'll get to work on it over the weekend. I'm going to Carolina beach with the family for the Memorial day weekend.

God bless our fallen soldiers.

you have to remember envioment water salt sun cold etc, somethings have to screw up sometimes thats why they make wd40, vise grips and duck tape

Looks like you guys got this handled....but figured I would post my experience with mine this past weekend. My engine would turn the boat to the right just fine....but when I attempted to turn left....the steering rod would not go all the way into the tilt tube.....and if i forced it...it would get stuck.

I assumed that I had build up in the tilt tube so planned to remove the steering rod and clean with a pipe cleaner and WD-40 and reattached.

The issue I ran into...which probably was also helping to cause the problem....was that the hole that was cut in my splash well where the steering cable went through...was a few inches further toward the bow of the boat than the cable was...so the cable was bending slightly going through the hole in the splashwell. This was causing the rod to bind as it slid into the cable.....and putting pressure on the steering rod in the tilt tube.......and as I found out later....also kept me from being able to remove the rod out of the tilt tube.

I ended up having to cut the hole out larger so the cable would not bind....then I had to but a wrench on the rod and rotate it back and forth while I pulled on it to get it out. Bought a brass pipe cleaner from Lowe's for a few bucks....rigged it up to attach to my cordless drill.....and ran it through the tilt tube many many times....always spraying in WD-40 and marvel mystery oil.

Cleaned the stearing rod...filed down some of the marks I made with the wrench...greased it up....slid it back into the tilt tube....purchased and installed a grease fitting that screwed onto the other side of the tilt tube....reattched everything....and now I am golden! Steers better than ever

Hey Stuarbc - It's interesting that you mentioned that the hole in the splash well was not in alignment with the steering tube. Mine is the same way and I never did completely remove the steering cable and I did not want to enlarge the hole in the splash well. I wonder if this is a common problem - what year & type of wellcraft do you have? - Mine is a '78 cuddy v- 20

Carl

Hey Carl, I have a 78 cuddy and I have to remove the outboard to remove the steering cable as well. I though about enlarging the hole or even taking a hole saw and cutting a smaller one just for the steering cable.

Great info fellas, thanks. My hole in the V21 is very small which does cause a little too much bend on the cable. All the more reason to go hydraulic which I really hate to have to do b/c $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!

mine is the 89 dual console. The real pain in the a$$ was due to the fact that I had to cut the hole wider with all the lines going through it since I couldnt budge the steering cable with is binding like that.....so I had to cut and ugly hole and then shape it up a little once i could move the steering cable. I plan to cut a piece of starboard to cover up the large hole and make it look nice.

I had the same problem with my motor last two years and had to use a torch to loosen it up.

What type of grease are you guys using, and what seems to work best on the motor fittings?

Also, how difficult is it to add another grease fitting to the top of the tube?

It seams this topic comes up every year at this time and every year there are numerous posts.

A quick search for steering will show the years of trials and errors.

Anyway, I had the problem one year and installed a grease nut in place of one end nut, pump it full o grease at the end of the year and the next, no problem.

Here's a link for the Davis Lube nut:

http://www.boatersworld.com/product/358500676.htm

Do a search for the nut, cause I think you can get it cheaper somewhere else, even direct from the manufacturer.

Nice!

yeah thats what I used....works like a charm now