i have a 1991 stratos bass boat with really hard steering. the steering wheel turns really hard. i was told to
ByQuestion by sadiesamkurby: i have a 1991 stratos bass boat with genuinely difficult steering. the steering wheel turns genuinely difficult. i was told to
grease the grease zerks but cant discover them. and anybody inform me exactly where the grease zerks are on my certain boat?
Finest answer:
Answer by Richard C
They are on the motor. Follow the cable to had been it screws on to the motor steering tube… there is a zerk fitting there. There are also one or more on the vertical pivot bracket on the motor it self. Even so. If the cable is old, 15 years. and has been sitting a long time, it may need to be replaced. Lube it and the motor, and see if it gets better. If not it’s a straight forward replacement job that you ought to be able to deal with. Excellent luck.
What do you think? Answer below!
THIS IS WHAT YOU DO 1ST DISCONECT THE STEERING CABLE FROM THE ENGINE AND SEE IF THE ENGINE TURNS EASY IF NOT THERE ARE GREASE FITTINGS ON THE SHFT GREASE IT IF ITS STILL HARD KEEP MOVING IT FROM SIDE TO SIDE AND HAVE SOMEONE USE HEAT FROM A TORCH TO HEAT THE SHAFT SEE IF IT GETS EASYIER
WITH THE CABLE OFF TURN THE WHEEL AND SEE IF ITS TIGHT IF IT IS CHANGE THE STEERING CABLE
LAST RESORT IS WHAT I DID CHANGE THE CABLE AND CHANGED THE STEERING TUBE ON THE ENGINE GOOD LUCK
If the motor is a 150 or larger put on a hydrolic system. Its money well spent. Check out Highwaymarine.com they carry alot of this type of stuff.
It’s very unlikely that the steering cable is designed to be greased, usually they are sealed. Grease just attracts dirt and makes steering more, not less difficult. Unless it was a stratos dealer, or qualified marine tech giving that advice, give up the search for zirts. There are probably some fittings back there, for the tilt hinge pin and the motor mount swivel thingy (sorry about the technical lingo). Unless the motor’s seen a long period of disuse, that part is unlikely to freeze up.
Here’s a temporary fix. If your steering system is way different from mine, this won’t help ya, but it’s what I know from experience. Turn the wheel fully to starboard and inspect end of the cable, where it comes out of the sheath and connects to the motor. Probably pretty dirty. Clean it best you can with WD40 then turn the wheel lock to lock a couple times. Clean it again. Repeat until the cable comes out clean. You might have to do that a couple three times a year. If you can disconnect the end of the cable from the motor, and pull it out from under the gunnel, you might be able to clean more of it – that’s a pretty big hassle though.
Hydraulic steering is amazing alright.
good luck.
I don’t believe that it needs greasing. I believe based on past experiences of my own, that the steering cable is frayed and is getting in a bind resulting in hard, hard steering. Replace the cable- There’s not much to replacing one- you can do it yourself , easily!