24V MG Tour steering problem

[WayneM1946]

I just bought a boat that has a MG Tour Edition 24V trolling motor that has dual cable steering. I am trying to make do with it until I get the straight skinny on the new TM's coming out right now. I have replaced both the shaft bearings and the cable drum in the steering head. Cables were lubed with liquid graphite and when not connected to the head, the foot pedal is smooth and cables have no binding in them.

I re-timed the cables when I put the new cable drum on and replaced the idler gear. I also replaced the plastic rollers on the foot pedal with the new metal ones. I started out with the cables looser than I thought they should be and gradually tightened them evenly to what seems reasonably tight. I don't have a way to measure the deflection using and inch pound guage like the manual says to do.

The foot pedal feels stiffer than I think it should be in both directions but the real problem is that turns to the left feel relatively smooth while turns to the right feel like something is binding and becomes real jerky, making it very hard to control the boat.

I also get what feels like torque steer if I take my foot off the pedal while boat is still moving. That may be normal, I don't know.

Any suggestions?

[Jonestrollingmotor]

Sounds like you have a bent shaft. That will cause it to turn easy one way and hard the other since you're fighting the torque of the motor.

[WayneM1946]

Thank You, Sir! Not what I wanted to hear. I thought it would be jerky both directions if shaft was bent. Never thought about the motor torque. When I had it apart to replace the bearings, I looked the shaft over pretty good and did not see a bend in it, but something is definitely wrong, so that makes sense.

Wayne