"93 Tournament 225 Steering Helm and Cable

[glacierbaze]

Motor is getting hard to turn. Want to have parts on hand to fix the problem. GW did not have the info for the mechanical steering. First time I have ever called, and they did not have the info at their fingertips. I guess I and the boat are ageing out of relevance.
I didn't know hydraulic was an option in '93. Have a photo of the Teleflex helm, only number I see is 4912, which doesn't
Google.

 

[glacierbaze]

 

[seasick]

The box is probably bad or the cable but to be certain, you need to make sure the motor turns freely . To do that you need to undo the steering cable/ rod at the motor and see if the motor turns OK.
Also confirm that the steering is hard to turn at rest or only at speed. If at speed, is it really hard to turn in one direction only or both directions? You can get an idea of whether the motor steering shaft is binding by moving the motor side to side using the prop shaft or cavitation plats as a lever. It should move somewhat, more for a worn out steering box, side to side. If it doesn't it still could be a binding cable or the steering shaft.

Teleflex is now Seastar. The actual part number you need depends on whether you have a tilting helm or not.
Here is a typical Seastar NFB on Amazon for a non tilting helm

Amazon.com

You need to know the cable length too. You may find that printed on the old cable
On some hulls, (maybe yours I don't know) you can't get the steering cable off and the new one installed without moving the motor over.
Someone on this board hopefully knows for sure.

 

[Sparkdog118]

NFB No-Feedback Rotary Helm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002M45A34/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_4wu.Eb85RKVBD

 

[Sparkdog118]

Pics would help to see if you need to remove the engine to replace cable.

 

[glacierbaze]

Didn’t think I had pics until I got back to the coast, but I found a couple on my iPad.

 

[seasick]

It mat be a problem, it depends on how much wiggle room is in the starboard locker. Sorry, I can't say for sure

 

[Sparkdog118]

Looks like motor removal to change cable. I would try some pb blaster. Work it in, then wipe off and apply grease. May need to take off the seal cap if it has one on end of tilt tube.

 

[Sparkdog118]

Doesn’t look like you will get it in the locker. Cable may hit the wall. That little angle will get you.

 

[glacierbaze]

Got down last night, disconnected the steering link from the engine, and it was easy one finger steering from the wheel to the disconnect.
Worked on pumping new grease into the steering shaft on the motor, and got it noticeably looser. Went too far, and decided to move the steering link from the back hole to the front hole, to increase leverage, and snapped off the bolt. Just got back from the hardware store with a thread cutter to clean out the front hole threads from 27 years of rust.
My question now is, will the motor tilt without binding the steering link, if it is no longer parallel?

 

[glacierbaze]

All is well!

 

[Sparkdog118]

If grease is not oozing out the top of the king pin, heat will help loosen the swivel to the point where you can swivel the engine right to left with two fingers. A combo of heat and pumping in new grease. If it is stubborn, add a grease fitting at the top of the king pin just under the bottom engine cowling where it won’t hit anything when the motor swivels. I’ve saved a lot of people a lot of money adding an extra grease fitting when the dealer says they have to take their whole engine apart to replace the swivel bushings.

 

[seasick]

I bet that 3 out of 4 owners don't even know that zerk fitting exists. I've busted a few too trying to wrestle the grease gun off but a screw extractor has worked each time to get the stub out

 

[Sparkdog118]

So true. Not many mechanics even grease this hidden fitting. They just don’t think about it I guess since the grease starvation problem takes so much time to sneak up on you. Lol.