anyone replaced a steering cable?

Well, I picked up another really nice boat just recently. Hoping to sit on it for just a short bit and sell it. This boat is mint inside and out, 04 Moomba Mobius LSV with only 70 hours. Everything about the boat is darn near flawless, except the steering is a bit stiff. We took it out for a drive this morning and ran great, but it was a bear to turn so I assume I need to replace the Steering cable?

Anyone ever done this? Better yet, anyone ever done this to the same boat? tips would be appreciated.

Thanks

(Message edited by hawk22 on April 15, 2009)

Nice. So did you buy it from the same place?

There are two things that can fail & cause that. The rudder shaft & the steering cable. You can disconnect the cable at the rudder & turn the rudder & the steering wheel to figure out which one is freezing up. On many boats there is a zert at each end you can grease & then work the steering cable back & forth (a lot) so it gets worked inside.

You may still need to replace the steering cable or the rudder bushing.

I did mine a couple couple of months ago. Took 3-4hrs by myself. Space in the V210 is tight so I took out the ballast tank, muffler, fuel filter and water pump in the rear and sub box at the drivers feet for better access. Pulled the old one out drawing it from the drivers station end. I tied a rope to the engine end and used it to draw the new one back. Not a bad job but would be super frustrating if you were in a hurry. Luckily it was raining cats and dogs so I had nothing else to do but crank the tunes and get busy.

I replace one in a 03 Supra SSV last summer. The hardest part is geting under the engine to remove the bolt that fastens to the rudder and the clamp that holds the cable in place.

I tried pulling with a rope attached but it would not pull. Removed the center floor section and found the cable bundled with wires over top of the gas tank and zip-tied down. With the center floor out it was easy to replace the cable. No need for ropes and pulling.

There is no lubrication points on the newer teleflex cables that are used by Skiers Choice in Supra or Moomba's.

We did ours last winter and it was ~1 hr with two people doing things.

+1 for getting under the engine .... everything else is a breeze.

Just make sure you remember what sides/parts of the old cable match up to the new one.


Taking the floor of is just the easiest way, it will save time in the end.

did mine 2yrs ago-03 lsv. most likely will need to pull the floor up-its not to hard to do, check over on Moomba.com under the forums as we have pictures and can tell you where the 6 hidden screws are

yeah Bill. Got it same place. Not a great price, but this is an exceptionally clean boat so it should still sell for me.

Thanks for all the tips. I briefly looked at the cable where it attaches to the rudder and without trying I'm gonna +1 getting under the engine. That doesn't look like a fun job.

But it sounds simple enough.

George, so you say there is no lubrication points on the newer cables? To clarify, are you saying that greasing up different pivot points (rudder/cable) wont do any good? Also, how do you like your SSV? I have the 03 SSV that I'll be riding this summer. Any tips.

You can lube the rudder. No place on the cable to lub. sealed on both ends.

I don't own the SSV, it is a friends. I replaced the cable for him because he isn't very good mechanically.

The older SSV's have a great wake. Better than the new hull in my opinion.

Did mine on an 04 mobius xlv last fall. With the floor up I still had problems where the cable comes up through the drivers foot rest. I had to cut a hole there where the stock sub is mounted to free the new cable. It was a good excuse to tear out the footrest and install a good sub box. Nice to be able to steer with a finger intead of both hands.

I am glad I paid to have it done sounds like a nightmare

I did one on my Sanger DLX a few years ago. It was NOT fun. On that boat I had to pull the floor, remove the gas tank and the hard ballast tank.

It worked out Ok in the end, but I definitely didn't enjoy it.

Jeremy here's a link to a write up I did a while ago on replacing the cable in my 03 SSV, I would bet it's almost identical in your LSV.
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/598885.html?1215643369
5th post. It's pretty easy to do.