2 part questions thermostat and steering

[steplift20]

If I wanted to find out if the hard steering is cause of the steering tube what if I do this
Remove the nut on the starboard side that hold the cable to the engine and turn the wheel it should be loose cause it's not pushing it thru the tibe, right if it's still hard then the problem could be in the cable do you guys agree with me . ..?

[SkunkBoat]

Disconnect link arm.
Turn wheel> if easy, problem not cable >if hard, problem is cable

If hard> turn motor left/right by hand, probably hard to turn, pivot shaft needs grease, if you grease it, does grease come out bottom/top? Grease may be bound up (grease pressure make it hard to turn), remove zerk fitting and stand back.

A really clean, well greased pivot shaft and you should be able to push motor left/right easily with link arm disconnected

[steplift20]

If I disconnect the link arm when I turn the wheel it's still going to push the cable thru the tube it won't turn the motor cause it's disconnected but it will still be hard? What I am saying is that if I disconnect the nut on the starboard side of the motor and turn the wheel if it's not the cable it should be easy to turn cause I'm not pushing it thru the tube it would push out the to starboard side ,if the problem is the cable it will still be hard if it's not the cable it should be easy, am in right in thinking this?

[spareparts]

yes

[SkunkBoat]

First step is disconnect link arm.

That isolates problem to either the cable or the pivot shaft of the motor (or possibly both)

If its the cable, you should be able free it up by cleaning and greasing when extended out of the port side of the motor.
You should be able to turn the wheel with your pinky finger. If you can't, then the cable is binding inside of the black plastic sheath....buy a new one...
Disconnecting the starboard side nut is not going to do anything unless you get the whole cable out. That will let you clean out old grease better.

If the motor does not turn easily by hand with the link arm disconnected from the cable, you need to grease or clean & regrease the pivot shaft.

My pivot shaft has been giving me some trouble. new grease was not pushing out old grease so the grease gun was "pressurizing " the shaft making it even harder to turn. I took out the zerk fitting and it shot grease out the hole! That made it easier to turn but not great. I sprayed WD into the hole and top/bottom and moved it back&forth alot. That loosened it up "good enough to go fishing". In the spring I will probably pull the motor and disassemble and clean the pivot. I remember when my motor was new that thing was smooth and really easy to turn by hand, even with cable attached.

[steplift20]

The engine turns easy when disconnected from the pivot rod the problem is in the cable( it's not old) the helm or the steering tube is dirty the steering tube is only about 5 years old everything was replaced with in the last 5 to 7 years I have to try to isolate where I'm getting the problem from
Cable
Helm
Tube
Which one that's what I have to find out

[spareparts]

pull the cable out of the tube