NFB Steering

[Slabhunter]

Can someone shed some light on NFB steering? I would like to eliminate the need to use both hands to free the steering wheel to drive the boat.

[Goldstar225]

Can someone shed some light on NFB steering? I would like to eliminate the need to use both hands to free the steering wheel to drive the boat.

I'm not sure what you mean by "free the steering". I can only say that I'm completely satisfied with the NFB steering on my PT190. I don't have to fight the torque of the motor at any throttle or trim setting. It's a bit stiffer to steer than the standard cable steer on my previous boat.

[billnorman1]

Drive a friends boat with hydraulic, see what you think. Get back to us.

[Slabhunter]

I don’t know how to explain this. The steering wheel is very tight to begin a turn. It almost feels like it is stuck and won’t turn but with a little more effort it will free up but, when I begin another turn it feels stuck again. It turns freely once you get it moving. I don’t have the torque steering problem.

[Goldstar225]

I don't have that issue with mine. If you're still under warranty I would take it to the servicing dealer to be checked out. Sorry I can't be a greater help but I don't have much knowledge of just how it functions.

[Highcentered]

Mine catches too. Just have to give it a little extra muscle to start the turn. One thing that made a huge difference for me was adjusting the torque tab on the lower unit. Gives the steering a more neutral feel at speed.

[Slabhunter]

I guess that’s what I’m trying to get at is unloading the boat, Idling through the no wake zone and can’t turn the steering wheel without that little extra muscle. I had a Crestliner 1756 with a Mercury 60hp 4 stroke that drove exactly like this one. I just sold a Targa V175 with a Mercury 115 Optimax that drove like it had power steering at all speeds. That is what I would like to accomplish with this boat. My original question was would this NFB steering do this. By the way this boat is a 2011 175 TF with a 60 hp four stroke

[billnorman1]

Sorry about the Hydraulic suggestion, with 60 HP you shouldn't need it. I have had NFB systems when they go bad it's hard to tell which parts you need.

[Slabhunter]

UPDATE!!! I removed the steering linkage from the motor and found that it is the motor that sticks. I have pumped grease into The pivot fitting excessively with grease coming out of the top and it hasn’t changed. Any suggestions appreciated.

[R2Tracker]

Humm... I might be looking into the condition of the push rod and maybe clean out the tilt tube. Perhaps disconnect the cable/pushrod from the draglink, or disconnect draglink from engine. Then see if the conditions you describe still exist when turning the wheel/moving the cable and pushrod, independent of turning the motor and vise versa?

I can not speak to the differences between non NFB and NFB helms. My 2011 175 TF came with non NFB and I fought some torque at speed and various trim levels. During a major electronics install, I also opted to swap steering to the Baystar hydraulic kit and... Wow! However there are some drawbacks (was a bit of work to retrofit as well).

edit... you posted your update while I was typing this, lol. However, very unfortunate that the stiffness is in the motor pivot itself.

[R2Tracker]

I have not watched them all the way through, but maybe you'll find something helpful in one of these.

[Slabhunter]

I appreciate your input R2Tracker. I checked out those videos you posted. I managed to get the pivot tube cleaned out and new grease in and it made a world of difference at the steering wheel.

[Extremeboating]

If you are having an issue where the steering is hard to move before you are under plane that is normal... The motor is still beneath the water and not planing at the anti cavitation plate.

However, if you are experiencing issues even while at plane then it is likely that your issue ir originating from the motor itself being set too low, which is causing the anti cavitation plate to be beneath the water line, which will make it harder to turn the motor. This will require that you do some testing to see where the plate sits at in relation to the bottom of the transom, which will require you either use a hard stick, or a flashlight to see where the motor sits while it is parallel with the ground (in other words the trim the motor nominally sits at when at plane) this will reveal if the anti cav plate is sitting below the bottom of the transom. This would immediately affect your turning effort and make it hard to turn the outboard while on the water.

I hope this helps.