Steering GT 150

[Randy]

I have a1989 Ranger in tip top shape. Powered by a 89 Johnson GT 150 also in perfect condition. I am wondering how hard should it be to turn the steering wheel. I can't find any grease fittings on the steering cables anywhere. The grease was kinda gunked up on the 2 rods so I cleaned them and sprayed WD40 on them trying to get some inside the tubes to free them up. I am stumped. Any input from you would help. It is hard enough to turn that it takes 2 hands to turn the boat and when I am not moving it gets even harder.
Thanks,
Randy

[zooker]

first off wd 40 will eat the grease out of the hydroil sterring arms.look for a dumb screw/bolt in the end of the hydroil arm.normally found on the driver side-incoming-arm. ya have to remove this dumb bolt, screw in a grease fitting and pump it up. some systems have this dumb bolt why i don't know-like a grease fitting is not water proof..

at speed you should be able to turn the wheel easily with one hand.every boat tends to be a tad differant, but mine turns as easily as my truck out of the water..

zooker

[Randy]

Thanks Zook...I will look for the "dumb bolt/screw" . It takes 2 hands to turn it while I'm sitting still or idling along, lets say in a no wake zone. If I have to make a sharp turn going slow, I really have to put some Arss in it to bring it back straight......I will let you know what I find.
As for the WD 40 . I sprayed it on the shaft to clean the gunked up grease , hopping it would slide easier.

[RonB]

I had the same problem up til last week. I have a two cable system on my mariner 175, and I was having to muscle it with two hands at idle. It made driving the boat onto the trailer tough. I tried everything, filling the grease zerc, taking the cables out of the tubes on the motor and cleabning both the cable and tubes...nothing worked.

Finally last week on another board somebody sent me this link. I tried it and now my boat turns easily with one hand. I did have to remove the rear cable to get a proper fit but..it saved me $600 bucks or so for new cables and installation.
In this article, the poster used a pump up garden spayer for air pressure...I used my compressor and set the air at 50 psi...worked great!

http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/4615

Hope this helps...my only cost was a bottle of cheap synthetic 5w20 oil, a couple hose clamps, and some rubber tubing.

Ron

[Randy]

Looks great. I will give it a shot.
Thanks,
Randy

[Randy]

Let me tell you what happened. I followed the steps and put together my yard sprayer and a rubber tube. Clear hose worked fine. It took about 2 hrs,,,,,totally worth it. I have a new boat now. That thing steers like new again.......Thanks

[RonB]

I'm glad it worked for you. When I was checking into new cables, I asked every shop about this trick...all said it either wouldnt work or they absolutely wouldn't let their techs do it. I'm glad they were either wrong or too greedy to admit that every boat problem doesn't fall under the sell your kidney to pay for it plan.

[Randy]

Exactly right, if they can't make money from you they don't want to give up any short cuts, that they probably do behind the curtains. Had an over heating problem a few years ago, stopped by the local Ranger shop. Talked to one of the mechanics, told him the story. He had a 150 on the stand to rebuild. He showed me how to change the water deflectors around the cylinders. They cost about a dollar each, takes about 2 hours to do. Problem solved, have not had it over heat since then. Always more than one way to skin the cat or whatever. Thanks again for the tip.