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Steering Stiff on 98 Response LX


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Along the lines of steering cables, are there any other lubrication points besides the grease zurk on the unit below the gas tank? What else can cause the steering to be stiff?

I just bought this boat but the 1997 Response LX a buddy of mine owns feels like it has power steering even though it does not.

Thanks,

Wood

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Nope, only the two zerks on the rudder housing. It is possible for the rudder to bind up but very unlikely.

I would say just replace the cable, around $190 from skidim. You can test the rudder by hand after you pull the cable off the back (1 bolt) and see if it turns easily.

FYI your buddies 97 has rotary steeing and your 98 is a rack and should be nicer than his.

-Chris

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+1 on replacing the cable. Once they start to get stiff, they will tighten up to the point you have to use two hands pretty quick (I've been there, done that) With a new cable installed, you'll be steering with one finger.

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I did a test drive one time with a nearly frozen up steering cable...and of course the guy and his two kids wanted to ski! I got a better workout driving the boat than I would have skiing!

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Along the lines of steering cables, are there any other lubrication points besides the grease zurk on the unit below the gas tank? What else can cause the steering to be stiff?

I just bought this boat but the 1997 Response LX a buddy of mine owns feels like it has power steering even though it does not.

Thanks,

Wood

I just replaced my steering cable this year. It was so hard to turn that I used two hand and body weight, now I can turn the whell with one finger!

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I just changed mine on my 99 Response LX. Night and day difference. Steering used to be a two arm job, now it is one finger.

I found the cable much cheaper here.

Good luck.

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Nope, only the two zerks on the rudder housing. It is possible for the rudder to bind up but very unlikely.

What if he over did it with the grease gun?

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Nope, only the two zerks on the rudder housing. It is possible for the rudder to bind up but very unlikely.

What if he over did it with the grease gun?

That is possible. I know that on my 99 RLx I can't even pump grease into one of the fittings. If I force it or over grease the other you can barely turn the wheel. Only way to fix it is to remove the grease fittings to relieve pressure then reinstall. Cable seem to be fine with about 700 hours on it.

Deke

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Nope, only the two zerks on the rudder housing. It is possible for the rudder to bind up but very unlikely.

What if he over did it with the grease gun?

I think very few people actually gease the rudder, and since he just bought the boat he is addressing an exisiting problem...

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Nope, only the two zerks on the rudder housing. It is possible for the rudder to bind up but very unlikely.

What if he over did it with the grease gun?

That is possible. I know that on my 99 RLx I can't even pump grease into one of the fittings. If I force it or over grease the other you can barely turn the wheel. Only way to fix it is to remove the grease fittings to relieve pressure then reinstall. Cable seem to be fine with about 700 hours on it.

Deke

I thought I was the only one dumb enough to do this. Whistling.gif Live and learn the hard way. I had to remove the fittings and let some grease out. Now works fine. :)

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Nope, only the two zerks on the rudder housing. It is possible for the rudder to bind up but very unlikely.

What if he over did it with the grease gun?

That is possible. I know that on my 99 RLx I can't even pump grease into one of the fittings. If I force it or over grease the other you can barely turn the wheel. Only way to fix it is to remove the grease fittings to relieve pressure then reinstall. Cable seem to be fine with about 700 hours on it.

Deke

i put 10 pumps of grease in the top grease zurk and had no push back. It easily flowed in. there was no improvement in the steering after doing that.

Wood

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Changing the cable is a good idea for sure as I have seen several boats over the years on the beach due to frozen steering cable. Jet boats back in the early eighties were notorious for this sort of thing. The Morse cable of the day was prone to seizure in the jacket housing surrounding the cable. No turn of the nozzle meant no turn of the boat. Beaching here we come! Especially when navigating rivers in Central California. Over the years the cables have improved, but I got to see an especially clean mid-ninties Mastercraft 190 hit the rocky shore last summer at a local ski lake here in Colorado. Nice boat with about 375 hrs on it on a test drive with a prospective buyer. Owner says steering just seized after turning wheel part way while negotiating a turn island. Made a bit of a mess of the boat for sure. Several thousand dollars of damage to a boat that was for sale. For a couple hundred bucks, it would seem like good insurance to change the steering cable out anytime there is stiffness in the steering that cannot be contributed to the rudder assembly.

MMF

Edited by multiplemalibufamily
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I just changed mine on my 99 Response LX. Night and day difference. Steering used to be a two arm job, now it is one finger.

I found the cable much cheaper here.

Good luck.

I need to change my steering cable on my 1999 Response. Any helpful hints before I start? It looks like snaking the thing through is going to be the tuffest part.

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I don't mean to steal a thread but my boat too has super stiff steering too since I took it out of storage this weekend. It is a 2003 Sportster with only 4 summers of running on it with approx. 200 hrs. I have always kept the ends of the cable lubed and when it is in storage always keep the rudder turned all the way so that not much cable is exposed (can't remember off hand if that's right or left). I don't run in salt water environments. Why does the cable start to seize??? Seems to me they should last way longer than mine has. That being said I will need to disconnect the cable and make sure it is not the rudder that's stiff to turn. Can anyone shed some light on why the cables seize. And also I think I read somewhere that if you change the cable to attach the new cable to the old one and as you pull out the old the new is pulled into place...is that the best way??? Seems to make sense.

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Best way to change (I've done dozens FWIW), attatch a nice strong rope to the rudder end the steering cable after disonnecting the large nut and the cable from the rudder. Then pull the old cable out from the dash, pulling the rope through. You can then go ahead and use that rope to pull the old cable back.

The part number is on the first couple feet of the cable (on the dash side) and you can order a new cable from that.

Some of these changes are smooth as silk, and others you will fight back and forth for an hour.

Why do they fail early? Generally once they get wet or immersed a couple times at the rudder end, it is only a matter of time before they stiffen up. They also can seize up from a winter lay up and sitting for long periods of time.

Hope that helps,

Chris

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Along the lines of steering cables, are there any other lubrication points besides the grease zurk on the unit below the gas tank? What else can cause the steering to be stiff?

I just bought this boat but the 1997 Response LX a buddy of mine owns feels like it has power steering even though it does not.

Thanks,

Wood

I actually called Teleflex yesterday and they recommended cleaning and lubricating the rudder-end of the cable first. So I first removed the nut from the rudder linkage on top of the rudder (takes two wrenches). Then I backed off the single nut (ahead of the two double-nuts. Then I loosend both large nuts and unscrewed the plastic sleeve towards the stern of the boat. I turned the steering wheel all the way to the right I think to extend the cable to the max. I then scraped all of the gunk off the cable (wish I would have had some steel wool) and used a bit of WD-40. Then I greased the cable end with marine-grade wheel grease. The guys at teleflex said to use a marine-grade lithium grease. I then reassembled and worked the wheel back and forth. It improved the steering quite a bit but it's no where near one-finger. I did notice the the rudder did move freely once the cable was disconnected so that is definitely not the problem.

I think this fix will get me through this season. If not, the furthest I can get from the house is about 1 mile.

Someone mentioned that they found a cheap source for the cable. I was unable to read the number off my cable since it appears to be worn off on both ends. Are you certain that the 15' cable you mentioned above will work in my boat?

Thanks for the advice!

Wood

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You can measure the balck part of the cable and add 30" to get the size you need (rounded to nearest foot), LINK

Edited by 99response
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