Yeah - thanks Chris. I've onle been on the water about 10 times since newly installing. I did the install myself, but for my Merc 150. Then got a differant motor OMC GT200. The marina put that on and hooked it up. It isn't that hard to turn, but sticks, and needs a jerk to get it to break free. Seems odd, but I will go over the entire system as time permits. Bill :mrgreen:

Vulture, I wonder if lubrication is your problem. If you installed it as recently as August, I wouldn't think you would be experiencing any negative side-effects from improper lube this soon. It sounds like the cable may be binding somewhere, or something has worked loose. If you haven't already, maybe check everything out really well to ensure all is still assembled properly. -Chris

Great Post - Thanks P Man !!! Bill

Good stuff. I have been planing to build that very cable luber. When I do I will post plenty of pictures along the way. Im sure it wont happen until spring time though.

Glad i caught this thread well be trying this on a stuck one I have that i cant replace . :up:

I posted this over on fastboatscanada.com:


I had a set of ride guide steering cables that were so siezed I really couldn't even drive my boat. It was to the point that I was almost unable to turn the wheel with one hand at a stand still. Unfortunately these are NLA from Merc. So as a last ditch effort I decided to take T-Rex's idea of a steering luber (http://www.hydrostream.org/ArticleArchives/Luber.htm) and give it a try. In short, this concept uses a compressor to push a cleaning/lubricating agent through the cables.
First let me say, one thing I did differently is I made my system attach at the helm side of the cable. I did this because most of the crap and grease enters the cables from the motor side. There is no use trying to push it all the full length of the cable. So I took a 1/4 air fitting and through the use of a couple of plumbing fittings and 3' of high pressure 5/8" hose had a system that would work.
I first flushed the cables with some wd-40 mixed with acetone and goo-gone. The first cable took about 10 minutes for the mixture to push through. The second took about 4 hours of 100psi and alot of running the cable back and forth under pressure. When it finally broke free I found my problem... hardened grease, and lots of it. Apparently these systems are not supposed to ever be greased but rather lubricated with synthetic gear oil.
I used a full synthetic 10w-30 oil after the wd-40 mix to oil them back up.
A little trick is to pull the grease fitting to give all the grime somewhere to escape from.

As it sits now I can turn my steering system lock to lock with my pinky finger. I was pretty skeptical about this idea when I first got it but honestly it works like magic!

Is that a thread on here? When entered, what category? How do I find it? Possibly a link? Thanks, Bill

I just flushed a set of cable that were ready for the garbage. I was amazed how the old grease in them just sits near the motor end and solidifies. They are as good as new now though thanks to advise I've recieved from the boards.
Keep them soaked with oil and I don't see why they should ever fail :up:

Thanks for the response. I was going to do it tomorrow. I'm glad I posted. Bill

Don't ever 'grease' the cables, that is what causes them to seize. If you haven't already, read up on T-Rex's steering cable luber. It works like a charm.
I have used a full synthetic 10w-30 with great success.