Fixing stiff steering
 

Here is a thread on how to fix your stiff steering.

Stiff steering could be a bad cable, stale grease in the rudder box, a bad helm, or stale grease in the cable housing.

After gaining access to the steering cable and rudder box, remove the cable from the box and remove the cable from the bracket that holds the cable to the hull.

It should now look like this.

Attachment 87643

Then remove the cable from the bracket like this

Attachment 87644

Taking the cable apart like this will not require re-adjusting of the steering wheel.

Clean the inside of the steering bracket tube. It will be full of old nasty grease.

Attachment 87646

Then clean the cable that goes in the tube real good.

Attachment 87647

Following that step turn the wheel all of the way to where the cable fully extends.

Clean this part of the cable real nice.

Attachment 87648

At my finger the outer cable housing goes over the inner cable.

Run it in and out several times cleaning it good. I soaked the cable in WD40 and ran it all the way from right to left and cleaned it then repeated several times.

Attachment 87649

Cleaning the outer housing was hardest.

I took an oil drain pan and put some gas in it. I ran gas through the tube.

Attachment 87650

Then take a paper towel and cram it into the tube and find something to ram rod it all of the way through.

I was not willing to use my shotgun cleaning tools so I used a paper towel and a broken golf club.

Attachment 87651

Now everything is clean and dirt free.

Then I took the rudder out of the rudder box.

Fortunately it was clean and no work was required.

Also I'm lucky as my trailer oils not let the rudder come out all of the way. It was dropped down enough to know 100% that it was not dirty. It was real clean.

I re assembled that. No pics sorry

Nice shoes.....

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While doing this project I noticed a hole in the tubing.

This is where a grease fitting used to be. I am headed to find a new fitting now so more info coming after I get back from the store.

Thank ya sir