Stiff Steering

[ronb]

My 92 SCR 164 has stiff steering. Turning ti the right is easier than turning left. Turning left at WOT is a two handed real hard pull. My fishing partner has his 18 foot Winner bass boat in my barn and his steering is very easy compared to mine. It appears we have the same two cable system.
I also do not have the steering torque tab above my prop...my new 24 pitch tempest plus would not clear the tab s I took it off.

While at BPS today, the sales guy showed me a Davis Cable Buddy system that lubes the cable via a steering tube nut replacement with a nut witha hole in. the idea is you drill through your tube, sing the hole in the nut as a guide, then pump in some synthetic lube. Sales gu says this will work for several years with needing servicing.

Has anyone used this system before? The cable buddy sytem is only about $40 something dollars....or am I going to have spend a ton more to replace cables. Going hydraulic is not in the budget this year.

Thanks,
Ron

[jimpantera2]

Sounds like you need new cables, one of them is starting to bind up on you.
I never used the lube nut so I can't comment on it

[pmgoffjr]

If the steering is good at idle, but stiff while running, you're getting prop slip causing the hard to steer lefts.

Fixes are:
Lower your motor a bit, and your steering will ease up.

or..if you like the way it's running, install a $25 torque tab on the skeg.

[ronb]

I will buy a new tab this week.
With both boats in the barn, my steering is twice as tight as the steering on the other boat. Even at idle it is tough to turn the wheel one handed.

Thanks,
Ron

[pmgoffjr]

If the steering is tough at idle, then it's a cable issue....torque tab won't help you out.

Pull the cable out of the motor, clean thoroughly with carb cleaner and PB Blaster, until it's nice and slick again. If you can't get it working freely, time for a new cable. Ouch...

Then if you get it going NEVER EVER EVER put grease on it again. Penetrating oil or silicone ONLY. Grease will just gunk up again, it's hopeless.

[ronb]

Ok, I'll try that first.

Thanks again,
Ron

[ChampionBassHH]

I had this happen to me early last year...stiff steering at idle, ok steering on plane. Had a two cable system. I could hardly steer it back on the trailer.

Only one cable was gummed up, dealer replace and installed Cable Buddy system which is working great.

[ronb]

I took out both cables today. With cables out..the wheel was really easy to turn, and the motor turned by hand very easily too.

The tubes the cables ride in were incredibly gunked up. I used the Gum Out cleaner and scrubbed the inside of the tubes using a shotgun cleaning rod and patches...the front tube was spotless inside but the rear tube still had corrosion inside. I ended up spraying it down with PB Blaster and attached the cleaning rod with a soft brass bore cleaning brush inside my drill and polished the insides. I also cleaned the rods on the cable ends.

After reinstalling everything, the steering is easy enough to turn the wheel both directions to the stops with one hand..without gripping the wheel. I still dont think its quite as easy as the other boat...but very close.
I'm going to try it out early this week before I go to Kentucky Lake Wednesday thru Sunday..(going as a co angler).

Thanks for the tips on cleaning it!

Ron

[ronb]

My steering is much easier now, but still stiffer than i would like.
I read Pat saying never to grease the cables again so....why is there a grease sert on the bottom of the rear tube? I took the boat to a mechanic who pumped the grease sert full of grease and he said to keep working the wheel back and forth.

With my cables unhooked from the motor..the cables turned very very easily, the motor turned really easy too without the cables hooked up. With everything reinstalled....the wheel is stiff again....what gives?

I dont want to buy cables if I don't need them as mine turn easily unhooked. When I cleaned the tubes...the front tube polished up to gleaming, the rear tube had some pitting but not very bad.

An suggestions ?

[jimham82]

I did this with my 202 and it worked like a champ. Did it with minimal expense.

Follow this link:
http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/4615

[ronb]

I attached a hose to my cables and used my compressor at 50 psi to lube the inside of my cables...worked perfectly!!! Wheel turns extremely easy now..easy enough that if I spin the wheel with one hand and let go..the enertia spins the wheel a few more inches after I let go.
I passed the link on to a guy on another forum who posted he was having the same issues as me ...he also couldn't believe how easy his wheel turns now. This tip saved me probably over $500 bucks!
Thanks for the tip!!!

Ron