Steering cable routine maintenance help

[DOJOLOACH2]

Does anyone have a link or helpful tips on how I can upkeep my steering system on a recently purchased '97 echelon lx? 

Steering wheel is pretty tight right now, I tried spraying WD40 on the exposed portion of the cable where it connects to the rudder but there must be more to it than this.

I have the boat up for the winter now as well, would it be worth removing parts of the system for more thorough cleaning?

[Eagleboy99]

Put down the WD-40 and back away....  there should be a grease (Zerk) fitting - don't overfill it.

[justgary]

Disconnect the cable from the rudder to see which one is tight.  If it's the rudder, put two shots of grease in the zerk like @Eagleboy99 says.

If it's the cable, it is because it got water in it at some point.  It is possible to recover the cable by forcing light oil (transmission fluid is a good choice) into it, but that is a pain, needs a special fixture, and it's not guaranteed to work up to expectations. Most people just change the cable. 

Definitely keep water out of your bilge so the cable stays dry. 

[DOJOLOACH2]

Alright thanks, do your guys rear bench seat have gas shocks to support them when accessing the area? Mine doesn't but debating puting them in there.

Having the heavy seat weigh down on me is a pain in the butt when I try to access the steering components

[Eagleboy99]

No back seat in my  99 RLX

[solorex]

Just tie your seat up or support it somehow temporarily or just remove it while your working there.  Not worth the effort of cleaning the cable, just replace it they are not that expensive.  Once you replace the cable you should be good for 10 years or more.  

[Chaabo]

Can you remove the steering cable at the helm? I like Gary’s idea of oiling the cable instead of replacing it. (Which is a pretty damn hassle BTW.) Turbine oil (or oil used in pneumatic tools) would be my choice here. Remove cable at the helm, tie it up somewhere and during the winter months drip feed oil through it while moving it ever so often by turning the rudder back and forth by hand a couple times.

Edited November 26, 2019 by Chaabo

[Rednucleus]

Yeah, no WD 40 - this is not a lubricant. Last year my buddy's 03 Sunsetter got really stiff steering. He used auto transmission fluid over winter and cable has been great ever since.  

[solorex]

1 hour ago, Chaabo said:

Can you remove the steering cable at the helm? I like Gary’s idea of oiling the cable instead of replacing it. (Which is a pretty damn hassle BTW.) Turbine oil (or oil used in pneumatic tools) would be my choice here. Remove cable at the helm, tie it up somewhere and during the winter months drip feed oil through it while moving it ever so often by turning the rudder back and forth by hand a couple times.

I really don't understand why everyone thinks it's a hassle replacing the cable.  I disconnected mine at both ends, taped the new cable to the old cable and pulled it through.  It took like 10mins max.  A little bit of fussing getting in back in the steering column, but that was only another 10mins.  Maybe my Tantrum is simpler than a sportster/response/echelon, but it was not a hard job.  OP has a '97 Echelon, same era as my boat, can't be much more difficult.  Pouring oil down the cable just sounds like there's a 50/50 chance of it even working and increased possibility of making a mess.

Edited November 27, 2019 by solorex

[Eagleboy99]

3 minutes ago, solorex said:

why everyone thinks it's a hassle replacing the cable

Because the darn thing is zip-tied everywhere in a lot of boats.

[RedWakesetterVLX]

 

 

[MadMan]

17 hours ago, DOJOLOACH2 said:

Does anyone have a link or helpful tips on how I can upkeep my steering system on a recently purchased '97 echelon lx? 

Steering wheel is pretty tight right now, I tried spraying WD40 on the exposed portion of the cable where it connects to the rudder but there must be more to it than this.

I have the boat up for the winter now as well, would it be worth removing parts of the system for more thorough cleaning?

Virtually every boat I've heard of with tight steering was corrected with a new cable.

[SkiPablo]

i guess it depends on how bad it is - mine was medium stiff this summer and I just replaced the whole cable as it was a 16 year old cable.  You can get the Teleflex 134xx or the 154xx depending how how much you want to spend.    it was under 200 bucks and about 2 hours of my time - most of the time was removing my sub and cutting all 9 zip ties under the helm.

i was curious about the old cable so I hit with the pb blaster and let it sit for a week and it freed up some but never got as loose as the new one.

Edited November 27, 2019 by SkiPablo

[Michigan boarder]

18 hours ago, DOJOLOACH2 said:

Alright thanks, do your guys rear bench seat have gas shocks to support them when accessing the area? Mine doesn't but debating puting them in there.

Having the heavy seat weigh down on me is a pain in the butt when I try to access the steering components

The butt portion of the rear seat should lift right out.  Slide it forwards towards the engine cover, lift the front portion up to 90 degrees (so it clears the arm rests), then lift right out.  Regarding the arm rests on each side attached to the side panels, you can now set that large rear seat on top of those to create a sun deck (as designed).  If you set the butt portion aside, the back portion is held in place by 2 guides and will simply lift right up and out.  Your transom light is likely clipped to the back of it too. 

If you go with a new cable post up the part number here, my steering is not completely loose but not terrible, I've been debating replacing mine too.

[solorex]

16 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

Because the darn thing is zip-tied everywhere in a lot of boats.

No zip ties on my boat.... guess that's why it was so easy.

[DOJOLOACH2]

2 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

The butt portion of the rear seat should lift right out.  Slide it forwards towards the engine cover, lift the front portion up to 90 degrees (so it clears the arm rests), then lift right out.  Regarding the arm rests on each side attached to the side panels, you can now set that large rear seat on top of those to create a sun deck (as designed).  If you set the butt portion aside, the back portion is held in place by 2 guides and will simply lift right up and out.  Your transom light is likely clipped to the back of it too. 

If you go with a new cable post up the part number here, my steering is not completely loose but not terrible, I've been debating replacing mine too.

Are you sure that sun deck is for the echelon lx? I thought it was only sunsetters and older responses that could do that. My echelon has no arm rests

[Michigan boarder]

20 minutes ago, DOJOLOACH2 said:

Are you sure that sun deck is for the echelon lx? I thought it was only sunsetters and older responses that could do that. My echelon has no arm rests

Sorry, my mistake.  I just saw a '96 on FB that does not have the arm rests, so it must have been the earlier model Echy's.  Here's a look at my '94:

 

[gary_tenison]

Replace the cable...its not such a bad job. I just did mine alone in under 2 hours. 2001 sunsetter lxi...19 foot cable.