Teleflex almost locked up

Wandering Sagebrush

Wandering Sagebrush

Free Range Human
Good Morning Brats,

I was getting the boat ready for an outing tomorrow and found that my steering was locked. Having more muscle than brain (both of which seem to be decreasing in ability), I reefed on the wheel and broke things loose. What I found was a rusty looking coating on the arm that goes back into the engine and actually moves the motor.

It appeared to be rust, but on closer inspection turned out to be a dried, caked on layer of grease. It flaked off with a little elbow grease, and the motor is turning smoothly. I haven't broken out the engine manual, but will do so shortly to see what kind of grease is recommended for this part. Have any of you experienced similar issues? Have a recommendation for a grease?

I also was told by a fishing buddy to keep the motor turned so that the arm was all the way in when traveling or the boat not in use, in order to keep dust and dirt off of the arm. I am of the opinion that by doing so, it contributed to the problem. Any Brats have a similar ritual?

Regards,

Steve
 
Hello,
The usual routine for boats left outside or stored for awhile is keep the steering rod inside the tube. Cleaning off the old grease and regreasing thru the grease fitting and putting a light coat of oil on the steering rod prevents it from seizing up over the winter. There is a fitting that can purchased that is drilled and tapped into the area of the the steering tube and some special oil that can be added to better lube the steering cable and the steering rod that prevents things from seizing up as old grease can. Same goes for the rods that are on the power tilt. You are supposed to tilt all the way up and swing the lever down to hold the motor up and then retract the rods into the cylinders so the don't rust. D.D.
 
I had the nut with a zerk in it but when pumping grease more squirted out the rod seal and onto the ground than went into the shaft.

To help keep it free I took the nut loose and squirted in some TRIFLO. That freed up the turning real quick when mine seized up once. Then put the nut back on.

TRIFLO is the very best penetrator and lubricant I have ever found. A little pricey but worth it. It is sold in bicycle shops as well as some parts houses.

Keeping the motor turned so the shaft is buried is a good idea.

I now converted to hydraulic steering and have not had those problems again.
 
Stuck or sticky steering has been a problem for many boats. It's probably a good idea to remove the teleflex steering rod from the tilt tube annually to clean and regrease.

A couple of useful links:

Prior brat discussion on the topic:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t= ... t=teleflex

A useful diagram of removing the cable from the tilt tube:
http://www.davisnet.com/product_documen ... udENGL.PDF

Good luck! It's not as hard as it may initially look -- use plenty of penetrating oil and a large wrench to twist the steering rod end gently to break it free in the tilt tube, then remove and clean both the rod and the tilt tube. It took me about an hour.

Matt
 
Last time this happened to me, :cry I disconnected the steering, pulled the end of the cable out of the motor pivot tube and cleaned the rust out. :sad Then, I drilled through the casting on both sides into the tube and installed SS zerk fittings. :smiled Jack
 
Thanks everyone,

I have it reasonably clean and definitely well lubed now. I will have to take the cable out of the hinge tube and do things right, but hate the thought of loosening the cable along the gunnel in order to get enough slack to pull things apart. It all looks pretty simple, so I guess I will have to get over the "lazys".

Steve
 
Steve,
I owned a 90HP Honda on a previous boat for many years and had the same problem. On my older motor there was an O-ring at the far end of the steering ram. I think it was in the large nut that screws onto the tilt tube. When this dried out and lost it's seal then I got the rust and binding up. Might check and see if your O-ring is still ok. It acts as a "wiper" to keep water on the steering ram from being pulled into the tilt-tube. Of course Honda could make the tilt-tube out of stainless and eliminate most of the problems with cable steering for an extra 30 bucks!
 
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