steering cable change lxi

[oldjeep]

I read a couple writeups about doing this, but thought they were a little incomplete, so here goes. Took about 60 minutes to change the cable and would have been 45 if i had brought my 1/4 ratchet rather than a 3/8 with a 1/4 adapter. If you do not have a set of gear wrenches this would be a miserably slow job at the rudder end.

1) pull the floor panel behind motor box

2) reach back and pull rudder arm all the way towards you.

3) use a 9/16 gear wrench on the top nut and a 9/16 open end on the center"nut" which is actually part of the stud. Remove top nut and washer.

4) Push rudder arm back as far as you can, push down on cable to get stud out of rudder arm.

5) pull cable towards you as far as you can and use 9/16 on stud and 1/2 gear wrench on bottom nut, make sure not to drop washer off when nut comes off. Remove stud from cable end.

6) use ?? (adjustable wrench) to loosen cable nut and then pull the cable out of the sleeve attached to crossmember, put cable end on towel laid over top of back seat.

7) remove 4 bolts holding helm to rack (drivers footwell). 3/8 socket on short handle 1/4 drive would have been awesome.

8) pull rack down where you can safely cut cable. Cut cable with cutoff wheel in grinder or hacksaw if you are Amish.

9) remove drivers kick plate so that you can see where the cable and wiring goes into the floor.

10) duck tape rudder end of new cable to cut end of old cable, especially around nut.

11) have helper pull old cable from rear while you push from front. When new cable enters motor compartment you may need to open motor cover and grab cables to help through hole.

12) once you get the new cable to the back, remove duct tape and feed new cable through tube in back.

13) reinstall stud on cable, screw cable nut to tube, push rudder arm back, push cable down to get stud in arm, pull arm forward and reinstall washer and nut.

14) set rudder arm at 90 degrees so that rudder is straight.

15) center steering wheel, then set rack on helm and reinstall 4 bolts.

16) put back kick panel, floor plate, turn wheel a few times and then go ski the course.

Edited April 14, 2021 by oldjeep

[justgary]

Excellent writeup!

[Bturner]

Good write up!

Did this job as part of a complete steering rebuild (cable, tilt and rack/pinion) rebuild over the winter on a 05 Response. Was the easy job that took days to complete. Didn't have the correct wrenches for the cable nuts at the tiller arm and that aluminum nut on the cable was froze in place due to galling. Sprayed the aluminum nut down with PB Blaster and let sit for a week, nut came right off. Made a set of long arm wrenches to get at the tiller arm and those came right off. We used a set of bolt cutters on the cable at both ends at the start of the project to make working at end easier.

[oldjeep]

I should also add that a flashlight laid on the muffler by the wall really helps, and a lifejacket across the mufflers near the doghouse makes laying on your side to do the work a lot more pleasant. The cable nut was kind of a pain, I hadn't brought 2 adjustable wrenches so that I could hold the one on the tube. Wound up just open hand smacking the wrench on the cable nut a few times to shock it loose. This was all done on the lift at my brother inlaws house, so I was limited to what tools I thought to bring.

This was the original 04 cable and really wasn't in that bad a shape, the real problem seemed to be in the rack/pinion where there was some clicking on the old setup.

Edited June 27, 2015 by oldjeep

[Steveied]

Thanks Old Jeep. I just completed my 2000 Response LX and everything went well. I am mechanical but not a mechanic and it took me 1:45, but I took my time and it went very smooth. Thanks for the great instructions!

[LowProfile]

Is it wise to spray some WD 40 into the rack? There's a rubber cap on the end for access. Just wondering if I'll buy myself some time before I have to replace the cable.

And why the hell doesn't someone sell a cable with grease fittings.  

[RTS]

I personally would not spray WD-40 on to anything I wanted to last more than a few months.  There are just too many 'modern' lubricants available today that are better.  YMMV.

[oldjeep]

6 hours ago, LowProfile said:

Is it wise to spray some WD 40 into the rack? There's a rubber cap on the end for access. Just wondering if I'll buy myself some time before I have to replace the cable.

And why the hell doesn't someone sell a cable with grease fittings.  

WD 40 is great for getting water out of things, it is also a pretty good degreaser.  One thing it isn't is a lubricant that is good for more than a couple minutes.  If you want to spray something in there then I would use a white lithium grease.  Doubt that it will do much good though.

Edited April 19, 2017 by oldjeep

[LowProfile]

Thanks for the advice 

[jabaai]

Thank you for the write up. I am about to take on my first Steering cable replacement on my 2002 Malibu Response LX. I am starting to gain more confidence with all the feeds that  I can do this on my own.

I really like the quote from a Malibu Crew member...."If you buy a boat, you better be a mechanic", so now I will become a Mechanic. Thanks Team

 

[electricjohn]

What year Lxi?

[oldjeep]

5 hours ago, electricjohn said:

What year Lxi?

2004 Response Lxi with the somewhat rare Black Scorpion power.

[foxriverat]

On 6/26/2015 at 7:07 PM, oldjeep said:

I read a couple writeups about doing this, but thought they were a little incomplete, so here goes. Took about 60 minutes to change the cable and would have been 45 if i had brought my 1/4 ratchet rather than a 3/8 with a 1/4 adapter. If you do not have a set of gear wrenches this would be a miserably slow job at the rudder end.

1) pull the floor panel behind motor box

2) reach back and pull rudder arm all the way towards you.

3) use a 9/16 gear wrench on the top nut and a 9/16 open end on the center"nut" which is actually part of the stud. Remove top nut and washer.

4) Push rudder arm back as far as you can, push down on cable to get stud out of rudder arm.

5) pull cable towards you as far as you can and use 9/16 on stud and 1/2 gear wrench on bottom nut, make sure not to drop washer off when nut comes off. Remove stud from cable end.

6) use ?? (adjustable wrench) to loosen cable nut and then pull the cable out of the sleeve attached to crossmember, put cable end on towel laid over top of back seat.

7) remove 4 bolts holding helm to rack (drivers footwell). 3/8 socket on short handle 1/4 drive would have been awesome.

8) pull rack down where you can safely cut cable. Cut cable with cutoff wheel in grinder or hacksaw if you are Amish.

9) remove drivers kick plate so that you can see where the cable and wiring goes into the floor.

10) duck tape rudder end of new cable to cut end of old cable, especially around nut.

11) have helper pull old cable from rear while you push from front. When new cable enters motor compartment you may need to open motor cover and grab cables to help through hole.

12) once you get the new cable to the back, remove duct tape and feed new cable through tube in back.

13) reinstall stud on cable, screw cable nut to tube, push rudder arm back, push cable down to get stud in arm, pull arm forward and reinstall washer and nut.

14) set rudder arm at 90 degrees so that rudder is straight.

15) center steering wheel, then set rack on helm and reinstall 4 bolts.

16) put back kick panel, floor plate, turn wheel a few times and then go ski the course.

Bringing up this thread to use @oldjeep pictures. Changed my shaft packing a few days ago and while adjusting it on water noticed a very small leak where the steering cable connects to the pivot point right behind the HDS cover as you can see location in first and second pictures. Drip was coming from the washer on the bottom. Is it anything to be concerned about? 

[Chaabo]

...

Edited December 9, 2019 by Chaabo

[River Rat]

Replaced my steering cable today!  This was the second time for me to have to do this repair--the first time was about 10 years ago on a 2000 LXI.  Had help this time and that sure made a difference.  We followed the instructions set out above, and it took about 45 minutes, start to finish. 

One thing we did differently was to remove the 1/2 nut from the bottom of the tiller arm rather than the 9/16ths nut from the top.  It was much easier to undo the bottom nut with a ratchet--there was not much space to get to the top nut.  The other golden piece of advice was to cut off the old cable near the rack under the dash--a pair of 14 inch bolt cutters did the job, but I would suggest using a bigger pair.  That cable is tough!

Tape the new cable (with the rod retracted all the way into the cable) to the old one with duct tape as shown in the photo and pull away.  Having someone feed the cable into the floor while the other pulls from behind the engine box makes snaking the new cable a breeze.  I did this by myself the first time, and lost some blood and skin in the process.  Get a buddy to help!!!  Snaking the cable took all of a minute this time!

We dreaded doing this repair, but it is not that difficult and with a little planning, some duct tape, bolt cutters and a beer, it really isn't that tough.  The difference in steering is worth it.  Back to one-finger steering now!!

[Steve B.]

This is a great resource for the future !

Thanks !

Steve B.

 

[Jonesyh2oski]

thank you

[Joeprunc]

Wanted to add to the list of Thank You!  If I didn't have a custom sub box and aftermarket heater installed under the front foot kick, this would have definitely taken 30-45 minutes.

A few things to add:

1. Before you remove the rack, make sure the cable is 100% in or 100% out and tie your steering wheel in a locked position.  Remember where the cable is before installing the new rack.  I have my boat rudder pretty loaded, so just having the rudder straight doesn't mean the wheel will be straight while underway. (I haven't water tested this theory....so more to come, but as an engineer this made sense).  
2. Between step 6 and 7.  If you are having a hard time sliding out the rod, have someone pull the cable slack from under the helm.  I did this solo, so I ended up unbolting the rack and pulled the slack that way.
3. When you remove the rack double check where the washers go.  They should go between the rack and pinion to provide a gap.
4. Used a sawzall for cutting the cable, went through two blades...that cable is tough!!  I kept laughing and wondering if @oldjeep would have considered me to be Amish!   
5. And I'd recommend squirting a pump of grease in the zerk fittings on the rudder.

For the 2006 Response LXI it is a 19' cable.   SKU TeleflexSSC15419Cable.  My cable had the serial number stenciled on it back by the prop shaft packing.

[Smitdog266]

Excellent write + images OldJeep!

The steering on my 2005 Response LXi has been both sloppy and hard to turn ever since I bought the boat in 2016 (3rd owner), and just recently something happened where now the steering wheel has to be positioned 90 degrees to the left in order for the boat to go straight. If I put the steering wheel in the "normal" position, it pulls significantly to the right. Is there some sort of adjustment for the rudder / steering wheel alignment that somehow got out of whack?

Either way, I'm going to replace the tilt mechanism with a Teleflex SH91800P Pro Series Tilt Mechanism to remove the slop in the steering wheel. Does anyone know the correct steering cable replacement? I'm thinking it's this one:

19' Teleflex SSC15412 TFXtreme Marine Rack Cable

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IQWWNW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A30X6C7XOKV1O1&psc=1

Thank you!

[Joeprunc]

I think I spent less at Bakes Marine SKU TeleflexSSC15419 Cable - this is the part number I installed.

https://www.bakesonline.com/teleflex-tfxtreme-rack-and-pinion-steering-cable.html

If you now have to steer differently to go straight, I'd be concerned...a change that dramatically shouldn't happen overnight.  Unless the cable is so stiff that the pinion jumped a few teeth.

You can remove the allen heads on your steering wheel and rotate the wheel accordingly for better alignment.  There might be a rudder tab that applies load on the rudder while underway, this can be adjusted to make load more or less.

 

[Smitdog266]

Thanks for the Bakes link Joeprunc!

[footndale]

So do you get just the cable or the cable with rack?

 

 

[SkiPablo]

the cable has the rack on the other end.   But while you are doing it you might as well check the rudder for any play there.

[footndale]

1 minute ago, SkiPablo said:

the cable has the rack on the other end.   But while you are doing it you might as well check the rudder for any play there.

They sell them both ways, which is why I'm asking.

[oldjeep]

4 hours ago, footndale said:

So do you get just the cable or the cable with rack?

 

 

If there is no rack at the end how does it hook up?  Rack was an integral part of the cable on the one I did