Unable to turn motor

[Carl]

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

[steplift20]

a plumbers tourch is what you want to use

[tsubaki]

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.

[Blue_Runner]

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.

[Stinky_Hooker]

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.

[Blue_Runner]

Bumpedy bump bump, bumpedy bump bump...

[Carl]

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

[steplift20]

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

[stuarbc]

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

[macojoe]

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??