Steering shot -aftermkt replacement

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by The Bottom Line

so i am in the process of replacing my steering too due to it being very stiff. I spoke with a few people and one of them said that if i just grease the cable down near the engine i would be good to go. Is this just a temp fix and am i better off just replacing the whole cable and if so what size cable is needed for a 1989 v20? Summercooler1 i am out of atlantic highlands too. You have a slip there?

No, it's called maintenance.. all moving parts need to be maintained. Greese, oil and attention are the lifebloods of machinery. If you free up your steering by simply greesing the bottom end then that was the problem. As to your question about is it a temp fix or not, that answer lies with the attention thingie... inspect the cable outer jacket carefully for any cuts, abraisions, etc. Any place that would allow water to pass thru and into the cable itself. If there are none then chances are the steering cable is fine and your greese fix will be a permanant one. If there is a cut in the cable jacket then you'll eventually need to replace the cable assembly.. so in that case your fix is a temp one. SEAL ALL CUTS with silicone wrapped with tape after it's cured to extend the life of the cable. Red skys at night...

[The Bottom Line]

thank you for the great advice. Next time i head down to the boat i am going to grease the **** out of it and examine the cable. Thanks again for the quick response!

[captkern]

I just replaced my steering cable with the 4.2 no feedback. It was shot and I thought I could free it up, but no way. Had the no feedback on my last boat and it is excellent. Now as I found out(and others here) on my '87 there is no way to get the cable out without removing the motor. The cable solid part on the end is longer than the distance to the sides of the motorwell. I got around this by cutting a cable size u shape from the opening to the back of the transom. This way you can slide the new cable in. I will cover this with a plate from 1/4 starboard, then install a new rubber cable sleeve/boot. The cable I bought was 16' same as the factory used. But I think 17' might be a better choice. You dont even have a 1/2" to play with. For anyone doing this job, bolt cutters made the removal of the old one easy. But sliding out the old cable from the motor tube sleeve still required a hax saw to cut in half. This was before I made the cut for the cable. If you make the cut first, this too would be very easy. Teleflex recomends that you take the cable out of the sleeve every couple of years and clean out the greese. Put fresh grease and re-insert. This way it prevents build up which actually locks the cable. This is why I made the notch..what are you gonna do..remove your engine just to grease a cable? The other question was installing through the glove box. Yes it does install that way..one small issue is the 4.2 NFB is thicker, and you need to draw the cable inside then slide two bolts in to hold the collar. This can not be accomplished if the helm is installed first. There is no room for the bolts to slide in. Solution is to attach cable first..temporarily use the wheel to draw it in. Bolt the collar up...then push the helm up into place. A second set of hands would help..of course it was just me and 100 degrees...so it was tough. The 4.2 NFB system cost me $179.00 Shorts Marine in Del. It took about three hours to do..mainly brainstorming to get the cable out of the tube. Also too hot of a day. By the way the 4.2 is pretty much a direct replacement..the holes lined right up. Anyone with a tight steering should not be afraid to tackle this job. If you have not tried NFB steering..you will be amazed. It comes very close to Hydraulic. You can turn the wheel with one finger. Anyone has any questions...I'll see If I can help.