4.3 Mercruiser Steering Cable Removal

[haody]

I have a 1993 Mercruiser 4.3L...steering is a little stiff when i turn toward port side. I think it's just the tube that is the culprit. At least that's where i'll start. Trying to take the steering cable off so i can clean and lube the tube but i've hit a snag. How the heck do i take this off? I have loosen the silver looking bolt on the cable end off and the bolt where you see the hole in the photo off already but it's still stuck. It moves freely (up/down/left/right) but won't come off. Any advice how to remove this so i can pull the tube off the steering cable? Should i put my purse down and use a little more force???

[haody]

Hmm...Just realized maybe that doesn't come off and i have to unscrew the tube out from the right side until it comes out completely. Thoughts?

[haody]

Can you tell i can't sleep? Here's another photo from the top before i took the black bolt off.

[mmwjr]

Have you disconnected the core wire where it comes through the assist unit? Go to Documents and get the Alpha Manual to see how to do this.

[haody]

Originally Posted by mmwjr

Have you disconnected the core wire where it comes through the assist unit? Go to Documents and get the Alpha Manual to see how to do this.

Yep. Already got it removed. I don't have enough space on the left side to pull the wire completely out of the assist tube. I'll check the doc to see if that will help.

[haody]

Looks like the adaptor block should come out per the manual. It state i need to loose the nut, tap the nut with a hammer and that should loosen the adaptor block, then remove nut and adaptor should come off. Only if the removal is as easy as the instructions.

[mmwjr]

Originally Posted by haody

Looks like the adaptor block should come out per the manual. It state i need to loose the nut, tap the nut with a hammer and that should loosen the adaptor block, then remove nut and adaptor should come off. Only if the removal is as easy as the instructions.

Try some penetrating oil or a little heat, a small amount of corrosion can really jam things up.

[haody]

that was a pain but I was able to knock it out with a hammer. Just a few light taps. Inspected everything. Found out the stiffness didn't original from the tube but from the front steering. Also got a chance to test to make sure the power steering was working. While the cable was off, i grabbed the adaptor block and moved it left and right and the assist moved as it should. That was cool to learn something new today. Anyway, hope this help some poor soul when searching around for answers stiff steering. Thanks everyone.

[mmwjr]

Howie can you elaborate on what the stiffness was from? What do you mean front steering?

Thanks

[haody]

I have the Teleflex cable, i think it's called Rack and Pinion. Looks like the photo below. There were some corrosion in the rectangular tube. I cleaned it out and sprayed a bunch of silicone lube then applied a bunch of grease into the tube the best i could. That seemed to help. I think long term, i'll need to get a new cable. But this should be good at least for the season.

[mmwjr]

Thanks for the explanation.