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HARD STEERING


sgt1970-442

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ANYONE EVER HAVE ISSUES WITH HARD STEERING ON A 99 SUNSETTER LXI? RUDDER HAS BEEN GREASED AND I'M WONDERING HOW TO LUBE THE CABLE. THANKS IN ADVANCE STEVE

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Can't lube the cable. Just replace it.

Search on the word(s) cable and/or steering and you'll find instructions on how to change out the cable. It's not difficult, just a PITA.

EDIT...UK is quicker. :Doh:

Edited by NorCaliBu
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You need to replace the steering cable. I did this earlier this year on my 2000 Sunsetter. It was really easy and DGoose has a great how to article around here somewhere. I even changed mine on the water. Took me about 2 hours.

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this is the write up Mike is talking about.

I have removed two just this yr and did the last one in 1.7 hrs. yep less then book time. To remove the steering cable start off by removing the 4 bolts off the steering box on the back side of the steering wheel. Follow the cable to where it enters the floor and make sure to remove any heaters, subs or what not in the way. Next remove the end of the cable from the rudder. Follow the end of the cable up to the mounting plate and you will find a nut on each side of the plate. Do not remove or adjust them. About one foot up from the mounting bracket you will find a chrome looking nut. Unscrew the nut and pull cable out of the mounting plate assy. Now tie and tape a piece of weed eater string, rope or some thing so that you can pull the new cable back to the rear of the boat. Before pulling the cable make sure the rudder end of the cable is pushed in so that the end shaft is very short. If you don’t do this part you will have problems pulling the last part of the cable out of the floor hole up front. Now head back under the dash to start pulling on the cable while the other person is feeding the pull rope. The last foot of the cable is the hardest to pull out of the hole and will take a little bending.

After removing the cable you will find # ( Example Teleflex SSC13419 ) near the end of cable. Then call up your dealer, ski dim or go2marine to order the new cable.

Now with the new cable tie and tape the rope back the end of the cable. Have one person start pulling on the rope while you start feeding in the cable. NOTE make sure the rope is pulling the cable or you could put the cable on the wrong side of some wiring. Once you pull the cable all the way to the back reinstall the cable and steering mount.

Steering wheel alignment.

When out on the water and in a safe spot. Drive straight at about 25MPH. When up to speed note the position of the steering wheel. Hold the steering wheel so that you keep going straight (do not turn). Stop the boat and turn off. Remove the steering box on the back side of the steering wheel. Once the box is removed, turn steering wheel straight and reassemble.

Sorry for the long read but I wanted to make this of the first timers. Let me know if I need to make any changes so that we could put this in the DIY area.

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THANKS GUYS,

GOT A TIP TO TRY REMOVING THE CABLE FROM THE RUDDER AND CHECKING THE STEERING FOR A HARD TURNING PROBLEM. IF ITS EASY TO TURN THEN MUST BE A RUDDER PROBLEM AND IF ITS NOT ITS EITHER A CABLE OR HELM PROBLEM. IF ITS THE CABLE I MIGHT JUST GIVE THE BASSPRO STUFF A TRY. THANKS FOR THE STEP BY STEP CABLE REPLACEMENT INFO, SEEMS VERY SIMPLE JUST TIME CONSUMING AND USING COMMON SENSE.

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I have found that cables only last about 7-8 years, typically. I just replaced mine this summer, after trying to lube it good everywhere possible. Bottom line is that on a 20 foot cable, you can't get it fully lubed from each end. It was a breeze to replace on my 00 SS LXI, it pulled right through. I paid about $170 for the cable from my dealer.

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I would put the 30$ that you would spend on the lub kit as a downpayment on a new cable. To me, the lube kit is good before the cable seizes, but even there, you are not supposed to have to lub sealed cables.

I mean COME ON, your boat is a 9 years old!! You are going to have to change your cable at least once in the next 9 years so might as well do it now and enjoy it for the next 9 years instead of wasting precious time and money trying to sqeeze out another year out of your cable.

Reminds me of a friend of mine, bought a boat 5 years ago (an 1989), I told him the steering cable was no good, he said it is not that bad, I will change it when I can't turn it anymore. He finally changed it this year in mid season and finally sold it at the end of the season. If he would have changed it 5 years ago, he would have had a smooth steering for 5 years, now it is like he changed it for the guy he sold the boat to.

On my 99 Sportster I had to change it in 2003. It was fine in the fall, but when I took it out of winterisation, it was stiff. That winter, there was a lot of humidity in the car garage I had stored it in. It also cost me a distributor and rotor that year because of the humidity. I solved that by putting a sheet of polythane on the ground so the humidity from the soil does not get in the car garage.

Edited by 1FootDan
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1footdan,

your right on the money gonna take the 30 bucks and put towards a new cable. pulled the cable at the rudder and its still hard to turn the wheel.

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1footdan,

your right on the money gonna take the 30 bucks and put towards a new cable. pulled the cable at the rudder and its still hard to turn the wheel.

Thumbup.gif Way to go! Biggrin.gif

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  • 7 months later...

After belly aching about having to change out my steering cable for a year and half, I finally got around to it... the night before our trip! It took two of us, 45 min from start to finish. Wow... I dank a six pack just to celebrate! It has never steered this good! anybody contemplating if they should change it or not, a bit of advice, just do it. it's easier than changing the oil!

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I replaced mine a few weeks ago and what an amazing difference. Little tricky pulling out from under the console because I didn't retract the rudder end. D-Goose mentions that in his DIY, but forgot to do that. One small piece of clarity is that turning the steering wheel full left retracts the rudder end of the cable. The lowest price I found was at boatfix.com.

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Mine has lasted 12 years and is still as smooth as silk, I wonder what causes some to go bad while others last indefinitely? Does leaving the boat sit in the water affect the cable? condensation?

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  • 1 month later...
You need to replace the steering cable. I did this earlier this year on my 2000 Sunsetter. It was really easy and DGoose has a great how to article around here somewhere. I even changed mine on the water. Took me about 2 hours.

Do I need to take the floor of my boat out to get to the rudder end of the cable?

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