Frozen steering rod

W

wapiti

New member
Just finished getting the Teleflex steering rod on my Honda 90 unstuck using the info found on this site that was provided by Dave Paxton and Tortuga. The steering rod was so bound that I had to use a combination of Blaster50 and a torch to heat the rod several times. A couple of hits on the end of the steering using a hammer and the rod finally broke free. Just wondering if anyone has used Boeshield sprayed on the steering rod to prevent rust build up and binding of the steering rod?
 
Oh my rod, Years ago I had a boat with that kind of steering. I bought a lube kit that included a special nut that had a fitting that allowed for oil to be injected into the cable and rod area. It came with a bottle of lubricant. That seemed to keep everything free.
D.D.
 
Another simple thing that seems to help a lot is to go out the boat every week or two and just move the engines back and forth. I had the steering on my 22 freeze up after being stored all winter. After that, I made a habit of moving the engines every now and then and never had the problem again.
 
Unfortunately there are no grease nipples (zerks) into the steering rod mechanism. I had to take the outside large nut on the starboard side off. This provides access to the inside of the steering mechanism. Then using a small diameter soda straw slide into the inside of the steering mechanism as far as possible, sprayed white grease inside the body of the steering mechanism. The two grease nipples on the housing are for the motor pivot and do not provide any grease to the steering rod.
 
Ok please don't flame me on this , On the the telaflex steering I took the back of under the dash to get at the steering box in the dash I drilled a tiny hole gust so it barely broke through the case then used a grease gun for a roller tip chain saw and pumped some grease into the box every so often . The grease will work down the cable as u use the steering . I just put a small bit of duct tape over the hole. Mine has been working great for 13 years now. The only problem is it does work out of the end of the cable at the motor and u have to wipe it off every so often. Hope this helps. The newer cables sometime have a grease nipple right at the motor .
Richard
 
Uncle Richie your post reminded me of another post I saw in a jet boat site. They took a round solid piece of aluminum and drilled out the centre the same diameter as the steering cable. They then drilled and tapped a hole for a grease nipple on one of the halves. After drilling an access hole into the steering cable they put the two halves with the nipple on the cable and clamped both ends with hose clamps. They were then able to pump grease into the steering cable and steering rod. Just another option but a little more complicated than yours.
 
Just went online and found the direction for installation. It wasn't what I was expecting. I had it in my mind for some reason that the lube nut would go over the steering rod on the opposite side of the motor. I see now that the way it is designed will work much better, but the trouble that I anticipate is pulling the rod and cable out of the engine, as I have twins. I really don't want to have to pull the head at the dash and pull the whole works out. If I have to do that I will buy a new cable and install the lube system as I put it all back together. Has anyone with twins ever pulled the rod out without taking the whole works loose.
 
I also decided that removing the entire steering cable to replace the nut with one with a zerk may create more problems on a 17 yr. old cable. I will wait till I have to install a complete new steering system and be sure it as some sort of lubrication system. In the mean time I have programmed my iPad to remind me every month to turn my steering wheel and lubricate the steering rod. Besides using it to run the Navionics app and many more applications just another good reason to own an iPad.
Wapiti
 
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