Boats Steering System Noises

Jazzmanic · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:52 pm Post subject:

Tug, I know you just spent money on the Teleflex system but have you considered changing over to hydraulic steering?

Tug · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:05 pm Post subject:

I talked to Teleflex again and this time I spoke to the correct person in steering and cables, he gave me some helpful advice and things to check to correct the problem. I will see if that helps.
If not Hydraulic Steering may be another option, is there a kit that will be suitable for my 1985 Classic Angler. Tug

rogerbum · Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 12:14 pm Post subject:

Tug,

Unless you plan to install an autopilot (which are BTW wonderful), I'd stick with the cable system and get it to work properly. Hydraulic steering is nice (I have it on my Tomcat) but comes with it's own set of problems and additional maintenance. Cable is pretty simple.

Tug · Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:00 pm Post subject:

I fixed the problem and the Steering Wheel is easier to turn. It appears that the cable was bound up ( sticking somewhere ). and after talking the boat for a short ride and vigorously turning the wheel from Port to Starboard numerous times it freed itself. Knock on wood. Now to get back to the more important things in life, boating and fishing. Thanks for all your help. Tug

Tug · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 7:40 am Post subject:

Went out fishing Friday morning, mostly to check out the steering . The problem I thought I fixed is back , very difficult to turn the wheel. I will try disconnecting the cable from the helm and the engine link arm and pull and push on the cable to see if it moves freely, I may have a bad cable. I will also give the engine tilt tube a very good cleaning.The fishing is really bad here so I might pull my boat for the season and get this fixed properly for next year. Tug

Tug · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:53 am Post subject:

Does anyone know if or where the lifting ring is on my 1999 Suzuki DF 70 is located. There are two rings visible, one on the manifold and one on the side of the engine block. It seems to me that these are used for just lifting certain parts of the motor or can you use these to lift the entire engine. I am installing a shorter steering cable and need to move the motor over a few inches. Also should I disconnect the control cables and electrical connections or is there enough play in the cables. Does anyone know? Thanks Tug

Sunbeam · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:22 am Post subject:

I don't know about your DF70, but I just recently lifted my Yamaha F80 off the transom (was doing some prophylactic epoxy core sealing on the transom). I have cable steering (Teleflex NFB). I did not have the steering disconnected, nor did I disconnect the other lines (fuel, electrical).

First, on the lifting. My F80 has two lifting rings. They are in a straight line fore-and-aft, and they are meant to be used together, with a bridle (I asked at the Yamaha shop). Some other models (larger engines) I saw had a central ring. In the case of the rings on my engine, they are both always there - I simply had to undo two fasteners and take a plastic sub-cowling off to get to them. On the ones with a central ring I think sometimes you need to install the ring after the main cowling is off (in other words, it does not live there permanently like mine do).

These two rings used together with a bridle made for a perfectly balanced lift of the engine. It didn't "lurch" or etc. when it came off the mounting bolts. The main thing had to contend with was that I had the steering cable on, which limited the engine's movement. I could have removed it, but I didn't really need the engine to move much. I used some large-diameter soft lines around the lower leg and from the lifting rings to my stern cleats to hold the engine in various positions (essentially slightly off to one side or the other). I could push/pull it to where I wanted it (suspended from engine hoist) and then just tie it to keep it there. The large diameter lines were just to not put any stress on the paint, not because there was a lot of force. Plus I had them on hand.

I would imagine that your engine, like mine, has a fair bit of slack in the fuel and electrical lines so the engine can turn when you are underway - at least on mine that was much more slack than the steering cable had, so if you have (or will have) the steering cable off, I would think you would have plenty of movement.

I would be uncomfortable using any lifting rings that did not result in a balanced engine. Seems like it should come off perfectly balanced and then you can just guide it around like any other balanced thing on a hoist (that's how mine was).

In addition to asking at the Yamaha shop, I looked up my engine's exploded parts diagram on boats.net, and was able to double check the location of the lifitng rings there, as they show up as "parts" of the engine. I also found information in the service manual.

I don't know if you have a hoist or not - I was lucky to have a friendly neighbor with one to loan out. However Roy & Dixie here on the forum used a clever method wherein the two of them coordinated between moving the nose of the trailer up and down (using the nose wheel) and putting blocks under the foot of the engine to lift his engine up by two sets of mounting holes (however they were only sliding it directly up, and I'm not even sure they removed the "slot" mounting bolts). I needed to get mine further away so I could get into the transom holes with tools to remove the core (Dremel) and then redrill the holes after the epoxy cured (drill), so I decided to use the hoist.

Here is a photo wherein you can see the lifting ring(s) on the Yamaha F80. The chains run up to the engine hoist, and the white lines that are also tied into the rings are running over the the port-side stern cleat to hold the engine slightly over to that side so that I have working room. (The red line in the foreground has nothing to do with the engine.)

ghone · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:12 am Post subject:

Hi Tug. Do I understand you want to pull your motor and move it over a few inches from center? That's a bunch of work. Usually steering cables are in 1 ft increments. If your motor has been steering well where it is I'd recommend figuring out why your new cable is hard steering, the NFB cable has been a standard for many years.
You do need to make sure cables hoses etc have plenty of slack.
I'd suggest undoing the cable at the motor end and see how the wheel feels. Make sure the tilt tube at the motor end is well greased too. It should turn pretty easily. Moving your motor entails new holes, undercutting and filling and then sealing the old holes. Several hours of work.

Sunbeam · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:39 pm Post subject:

Just to clarify, I didn't realize you meant to move your engine over permanently. I thought you just meant you had to move it out of the way to get the steering cable in or something like that. I agree with George in that I would want to get a cable to fit the center mounting, not move the engine permanently to fit the cable (if that is what you meant).

Tug · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 7:17 pm Post subject:

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb355/Tug7/000_0010.jpg

Sorry for the confusion, what I meant to say was just move my motor over a few inches so that I could get the new 18 foot Teleflex cable in. I did that this morning using a tri-pod and come-a long and brought my boat back to my slip. Thanks for the picture , it gave me some ideas. It was to windy to go for a test drive but it seemed okay. I think a 17.5 foot cable would of been perfect but they only comes in even foot lengths.
I think the problem with the last cable was , I ordered it to long.( 19 feet ). It was hanging down the side of the gunnel and when I tried putting in under the gunnel it caused to much tension in the cable???? The tilt tube is all cleaned out. ( shotgun barrel cleaning wire brush ). and everything including the link arm is all lubricated. I didn't install the new steering wheel , my knuckles hit the dash as I turn the steering wheel. I kept the old steering wheel, it has a larger diameter and I knuckle safe. Thanks Tug