Steering locked up ...90 204c

[OZ WHITE]

My steering was a little loose and felt like a cogwheel the last few. times out...yesterday it locked up turning left...it freed up after a few tries and then totally locked up.Wheel has a lot of play, but won't move past a certain point..I reviewed a thread here...sounded exactly like my problem..on an 89 204c... teeth broke in the helm steering box behind the console...repaired by replacing the helm steering box with telefax helm steering box...my mechanic said 90% of the time it is a problem in the cable in the tilt tube on the motor and he may have to pull the motor to repair it..don't know who to believe
Any thoughts on this...90 204c Yamaha 150 4 stroke..

 

[glacierbaze]

Disconnect the cable from the motor, and see which one moves, and which one doesn't.

 

[transfib]

Replace it with hydraulic steering, did my 91 24 Offshore last year, easy to do!

 

[seasick]

My steering was a little loose and felt like a cogwheel the last few. times out...yesterday it locked up turning left...it freed up after a few tries and then totally locked up.Wheel has a lot of play, but won't move past a certain point..I reviewed a thread here...sounded exactly like my problem..on an 89 204c... teeth broke in the helm steering box behind the console...repaired by replacing the helm steering box with telefax helm steering box...my mechanic said 90% of the time it is a problem in the cable in the tilt tube on the motor and he may have to pull the motor to repair it..don't know who to believe
Any thoughts on this...90 204c Yamaha 150 4 stroke..

Disconnect the cable from the motor, and see which one moves, and which one doesn't.

Glacierblaze is correct. Disconnect the steering rod at the motor to see if the motor itself turns freely. It probably will. A steering box and cable that old probably need replacement, even if it turns out that the box is bad. It makes no sense to change it and not the cable.
The motor may have to be unbolted and slid to one side to get enough space to remove the old cable. It doesn't need to be completely disconnected usually.
If you want to futz around a bit, you can remove the steering cable at the helm and try to determine if the cable is bad by looking at it while you turn the motor manually. The motion of the motor should have a corresponding movement of the cable end under the dash.if you need to remove or replace the steering box, your biggest challenge may be removing the steering wheel. Do research on the internet so that you don't destroy your wheel nor knock out your front teeth

 

[OZ WHITE]

Thanks for the input...I may go all out and have the transom/stringers done at the same time...old boat but newer motor (160 hours)