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Steering question for an '02 Sporty


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Hi everyone, I took my '02 Sportster out today for the first time in a few months, and have a steering question. The steering is not frozen by any means, but it is still harder to turn then usually. My question is are the only grease fittings on the rutter box? Or are there any other locations? Also, is there any other normal maintenance I should to the steering cable, box, etc.? Thanks- Jason Biggrin.gif

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Hi everyone, I took my '02 Sportster out today for the first time in a few months, and have a steering question. The steering is not frozen by any means, but it is still harder to turn then usually. My question is are the only grease fittings on the rutter box? Or are there any other locations? Also, is there any other normal maintenance I should to the steering cable, box, etc.? Thanks- Jason Biggrin.gif

Mine did the same thing and had to replace the steering cable after adding grease to the only fittings (on the rudder bearing) to find out it was binding inside the cable assembly. Replacement was the only option for mine, no way to lubricate the old one.

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How long were you out for?

Last season..... first run after 7 months of storage..... my 1998 RLX.... I thought the same thing.

After an hour of being in the water and driving...... everything was fine. I have no idea what material the rudder bushings are.... but I assume being in the water for a while made things better.

I love it when problems fix themselves.

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Ya the boat hasn't been in the water since last season. However, frequently I would pull it out and run it. I did all my normal maintenance a few months ago, but I completely forgot about checking the steering. When I took it out today, it got better but still wasn't what it used to be. How hard is it to change the cable? Any ideas on how much it would cost? Also is this something I could do myself? Thanks again.

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Easy tocheck on a Sporty. Remove the back seat, pull up the center floor board in the back, disconnect the steering cable end from the rudder arm. Try turning the steering wheel with the cable disconnected and that will tell you if the rudder is sticking due to lack of lubrication or if the cable needs to be replaced. While you're down there...lube the rudder box anyway.

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Thanks for the help, I'm going go check and see if I can figure out the problem. If it does happen to be the cable, how hard is that to change?

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If it does happen to be the cable, how hard is that to change?
Not that hard. I used my dremel to slightly enlarge the hole where the cable enters the stringer...once I did that it was a piece of cake. Just tie a piece of heavy string / lite rope to the rudder end before you pull it through then tie it to the end of the new one and pull it back.
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Easy tocheck on a Sporty. Remove the back seat, pull up the center floor board in the back, disconnect the steering cable end from the rudder arm. Try turning the steering wheel with the cable disconnected and that will tell you if the rudder is sticking due to lack of lubrication or if the cable needs to be replaced. While you're down there...lube the rudder box anyway.

"Easy" and "remove backseat" of a Sporty shouldn't be used in the same paragraph. Surprised.gif

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Easy to check on a Sporty. Remove the back seat, pull up the center floor board in the back, disconnect the steering cable end from the rudder arm. Try turning the steering wheel with the cable disconnected and that will tell you if the rudder is sticking due to lack of lubrication or if the cable needs to be replaced. While you're down there...lube the rudder box anyway.
"Easy" and "remove backseat" of a Sporty shouldn't be used in the same paragraph. Surprised.gif
I said "remove the back seat"...not "remove the seatback". I was just referring to the part that sits on the floor. You don't need to remove the seatback to hit the rudder box with a grease gun.
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Who leaves that in anyways?
Michael does so he has a place to rest his lazy arse.
You're just jealous that I get to use my boat more than you. Tongue.gif Don't you have some snow to shovel? Tease.gif
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Who leaves that in anyways?
Michael does so he has a place to rest his lazy arse.
You're just jealous that I get to use my boat more than you. Tongue.gif Don't you have some snow to shovel? Tease.gif

Nah, cleared the two - three feet off my deck the other day so the rain wouldn't make it too heavy. The ice is looking grey. . .

Tongue.gif

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Changing out the steering cable in our boat almost brought me to tears in frustration Mad.gif I swore at everyone and everything in sight, I came out bleeding, bruised and about ready to Blowup.gif 2 days and a the use of a jig saw later, I had the new cable in :) I think my big mistake was taking on the project after a long day of work where it was pushing 100 outside and 10 degrees hotter in our garage...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well I was finally able to work on the boat today, and I do need a new cable. By what I can find on the

Discount Inboard Marine

site, it looks like I'm going to need "BACKMOUNT RACK SINGLE CABLE". Yet I'm not sure what size I need (15,16,17,18,etc). Would anybody happen to know what it would be for the '02 Sportster?

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Well I was finally able to work on the boat today, and I do need a new cable. By what I can find on the

Discount Inboard Marine

site, it looks like I'm going to need "BACKMOUNT RACK SINGLE CABLE". Yet I'm not sure what size I need (15,16,17,18,etc). Would anybody happen to know what it would be for the '02 Sportster?

The cable number is printed within 18" of either end of the cable. I believe the last 2 numbers are the length. Also try boatfix.com - I found my cable much cheaper there.

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mrothwell provided me with this link about 18 months ago when I needed to replace the Teleflex cable in my 00 Sporty. It is the exact cable that I needed and I would think it would be the same for you. Great price too.

Edited by NorCaliBu
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