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I took me 4.5 hours to unfreeze the steering cables! The tube on the motor was pretty much completely rusted up and almost gave up until I saw some of the prices to replace. With a can of WD40, a rivet gun with a flush set, a 2x4, a strap and a 10" punch I was able to move the cables in enough to break them loose but the amount of rust kept it from coming back out. Enter the ratchet strap connected to the steering hole and an upright I Beam in the shop. Putting enough pressure on the strap to pull the rear of boat over. I have a stairway against that I Beam so I took a 2x4 and wedged it against the motor mount beating it into position with a 5lb dead blow hammer. This put strong pressure on the strap to help pull the cables back out.
From the Starboard side of motor, I took the 10" punch and placed it on the steering connector that the strap was pulling on. Picked up the rivet gun and lightly pulled the trigger. As I did this, I watched the steering wheel start to move. Got her moved about two inches, tightened the strap, two more inches, tighten again. Once I got it all the way back out, cleaned rust and WD40 it. I would have to disconnect the cables to shoot WD40 into Starboard side of tubes. Repetative back and forths of knocking it in, and the back out with the rivet gun with cleaning and lube each time led to being able to flush a lot of broken up rust out.
Now it acts as if it's almost new. Perseverance and plain old red neck engineering allowed me to save having to replace them.
The down side of getting them fixed is that I think I might have to break down the motor in order to change the mounts out. There is a lot of left to right slop in the motor. It's all good though as it's a new learning experience and a challenge. I thrive on challenges! Hopefully when done the motor will give years of service.
Reaper, Where Fish come to Fry
Originally Posted by Hat55
