parker steering unit issues

[vincentek9]

Well, I took my 96 parker down to the launch ramp for a quick fishing session today. During the dunking process, the steering unit was frozen up. It's happened a little more recently and my buddy told me that the steering unit was just old. My dumb self figured to give it a little force to try to break away any frozen sections and i heard a *pop* while trying to turn the steering wheel. basic story, I snapped the gear inside of the steering helm.

Took the boat home and took apart the helm.. the gear connected to the steering wheel spindle was snapped in 2. The steering cable (the part that goes through the trim tube) was spitting out alot of rust-colored stuff. and the trim tube was rusting up quite a bit.

I've already ordered a new steering kit + trim tube and i'll make sure to keep up with regular regreasing of the system from now on. My main question is: what is the normal lifespan of a steering unit? the stamp on the old steering cable said "Aug 95" so its 20 years old. i'm surprised that it lived this long.

 

[miketheserviceguy]

Well, first off he problem was not necessarily that your steering cable wore out. The problem is generally contained in the tilt tube on your outboard that the cable passed through. The tilt tubes are generally made of high strength steel and some OMC/BRP products had a special Stainless alloy that could still build up surface rust on it (remember, it's stain-lee and not stain-free metal and still has iron in it).

When you get your new steering cable kit you can do one of two things prior to installing it: 1) replace the tilt tube with a new one (replace the lock nuts etc with it-some MFG's package it as a kit, others sell it all as loose parts) or 2) get a round steel boiler brush that will fit inside the tube to "grind" out all the old grease and corrosion inside by attaching the brush to a drill. If you cant fine one locally you can order one from TH Marine like this: http://www.iboats.com/T-R-Marine-Steeri ... w_id.40162 (I am not endorsing iBoats). What comes out of the tube is usually frightening & messy-adding some light lubricant like WD-40 will help break it up and chase it out Lots of old rags are your friend here to collect everything that drips out!

Lubricate your new cable liberally but don't get too carried away because most of the grease scrapes off when you insert it into the tube. One more thing: those grease fittings you see on the front of the motor bracket that aim right at the tilt tube NO NOT grease the steering cable! Nothing reaches the inside of the tube so if you have room on your boat to fully extract the cable end from the motor do so at the end of every season to lubricate the inside of your tilt tube.

Hope this helps & good luck!

Mike the Service Guy