Stiff Steering wheel?

[fishermantony]

I've got a 91 Mercury XR6 on my boat and the steering wheel is very stiff, especially when it's cold.  This makes it difficult to steer my boat back on the trailer and may be somewhat unsafe.  Someone I know told me that some properly applied oil should solve this.  Is this right or are there multiple other possibilities that could be causing this?  Any suggestions or descriptions on a solution are appreciated.

[cart7t]

Given the age of the boat you're looking at replacing your steering cables.  Forget about lubing anything and just replace them.  The lubricant in side has dried up,  it's probable the cables have rusted as well.  You don't want to mess around and go cheap on this deal.  The last thing you want is to be at speed and have a cable break.

Teleflex is the most popular system and most likely in your boat.  The number for the cable is printed on the cable itself.  You should be able to find that number by searching around under the console and following the cables as they exit the steering helm box. 

[burleytog]

Yep, replace the steering cable before operating the boat again.  It won't give any warning when it decides to break.

[fishfordollars]

As said above. change out the steering cables.

[bear7625]

http://www.lowcostboatingstore.com/

This place has best prices for Teleflex.

[fishermantony]

Thank you all very much, I am going to replace the steering cables.

[TommyBass]

Just because he has trouble steering dosn't necessarily mean that he has to replace his cables.  Most cable steering style motors have zyrcs (sp?) that allow you to grease the piston that moves side to side on the front of your motor.  Adding some good grease to this is usually the solver of the problem, especially if its mostly occuring in cold weather.  Alot of guys don't know this cause they put their boats up once its gets cold out. 

If that dosn't fix the problem then you can look into replacing the cables.  I'm not saying that this can't be the problem, it can, but look into it before just dropping that much cash on it for possibly no reason.  A properly maintained boat shouldn't have to have the cables replaced all that soon. 

So to sum it up.... I'd recommend looking over teh cables for signs of wear or rust... then greasing it, taking it out and trying it at slow speeds to see if it helped, and if not, then change out the cables.

[Way2slow]

I find very few have grease fittings that will actually allow for greasing the cables in a way that it will get the grease into the cable where it needs to get. I make up a home brew of lubes (WD40, brake fluid and Lubriplate 105) to work into the cables but that's usually just a temp fix.

I might suggest looking into changing it to hydraulic steering. If you have dual cables and have to pay a shop to replace them, that can be fairly expensive, close to the cost of a hydraulic system.

[Jig Man]

You can make a cable luber if none of the shops do it where you live.  If you want info, send me a pm.  I have a couple of friends with 16 year old units who lube the cables every other year and they just keep on keeping on.

[fishermantony]

Thanks for the additional input.  Wish I was home and could inspect it while I'm getting this advice.  I'm deployed overseas and will be home in a little over a month.  TommyBass, I believe the area in front of the motor that you are talking about is where my friend said to apply it.  A pic of the area would be great since I can't see my motor, I guess I can google some images or have my wife take a pic and send it to me.  Well, I think I'll try the grease before replacing the cables.

[fishfordollars]

just unhook the end by the motor and see if it frees up. That should tell you what you need to know.