Stiff steering cable

[rexico]

How about advice on my stiff cable on a 97 Skeeter sx..... replace or repair?

[Jumping Jimmy]

I had cables on my Winner Tournament boat. You can try to remove them from the motor and clen them up and lubricate them. That worked once for me. Eventually I had to replace them. I purchased the cables form Overton's. Not to bad of a job to pull out the old cables and install the new ones. On some boats you have to remove the engine to get the cables out. I did not have to do that. Good luck.

[bassboat1]

I could extend the life on the cables on my old Johnson/Winner Tournament FX (what are the odds, right Jimmy?), but they were headed towards ruin once they got hard to turn. To replace the starboard cable, it was recommended to hang the motor to avoid an over-tight bend radius when coming out of the rigging hole/into the steering tube. I never did, and that's likely why I went through cables quickly. FYI, Teleflex (now part of SeaStar?) molds the P/N and length into the cable jacket every foot or two.

[twitch]

Just replaced the cables on my 1990 Ranger, had to remove the motor from transom to get the right angle to get the new cables on. Don't try to force them because tight bends are not good for cables . Be careful pulling the new cables through not to tear any wires or something going down the gunnel easy enough job with an extra pair of hands.

[ecoast]

could be froze cable or stuck steer tube

remove at engine and determine

[twitch]

ecoast that is a good point , remove the cables from the motor and try turning the wheel and see if it feels stiff still, new cables ,if it is free then check the steering tube possibly could be full of hardened old grease but probably going to be cables....I ended up changing both the helm and the cables on mine nice and smooth now

[bsnrngr]

Replace mine got stiff & lubed them then it broke at ramp

[PungoBob]

Hey rexico, I was a tech at David Frits Outdoors and ran into this issue many times. Here's one solution that worked fine r us more re takes than not. The best way to really clean the tilt tube throughly is to remove the engine. Most marine dealerships sell a very stiff brush made specifically for cleaning tilt tubes. Once you have the cable out of the tilt tube turn the wheel in both directions to make sure the cable moves freely. If the cable is ok clean everything VERY throughly using a light oil to lubricate the cable. Do NOT use grease. Grease and s a dirt magnate and every time you turn the wheel you're dragging dirt into the tube which accumulates causing the cable to seize itself in the tube. Good luck with your steering.

[twitch]

a shotgun cleaning kit usually has a brush the will fit the tilt tube for cleaning it out , that is what I used on mine when I just did it a couple months ago

[rojoguio]

I have a Tilt Tube Reamer. Bought it online. Best tool you can buy for removing everything inside of the tilt tube back to factory specs. Yamaha tilt tubes here on the coast are the worst. My reamer has made several shop payments for me.

Tilt Tube Reamer.jpg