Steering Stiff

I noticed last year my steering was getting stiff in the morning but afternoon it was not too bad. Took the cable off the the rudder and it was still stiff so I guess it's time for a new cable. So my question is how much is this going to cost me ? an arm or a leg? 2003 MC X7 direct drive.

Thanks for any imput.

cable should be between $120 (certain online sites) and $150 (dealer). If you do it yourself that's all it will be! If I can do it with no experience on a V-drive, a direct drive should be a cinch. Do a search, there are detailed directions all over the place. Also check out tmcowners.com.

oh, I'm assuming you tried greasing all three zerks first before deciding it was bad?

Yes I did grease the zerks, are the cables real stiff or are they flexable? Someone else posted not to long ago that they replace their cable and also put a boot on the end of the cable to keep dirt from going into the cable housing, has anyone seen this or know where to get one?

(Message edited by hooterz on March 18, 2007)

on the old cable that I replaced, it was fully extended when I took it out, and I had to bang it HARD with a hammer to get it to telescope back inward. I just did this for kicks before throwing it away. On the new one, I could freely move the metal end of the cable (the 16 or so inches at the back of the boat) with my hands up and down.

I've never heard of the boot, but I'd be very interested in getting one if they exist. I do wonder if the cables don't have something similar built in to them already though.

Steering cable install is not too difficult especially if you have two people. Short description is to disconnect the rudder side and tie a strong rope, cable etc to the rudder end and then pull it out from the steering wheel. After you get it out tie the rope to the new cable and reverse the process. Not to difficult just a little time consuming and have to reach in a few tight places.

To prolong the life of your steering cable always store the boat with the steering wheel turned all the way to the side that has the cable retracted in its sleeve. On our boat I believe it is to the left but am not positive without checking. This helps prevent moisture form getting inside of the cable. Also make sure you completely drain the water out of your boat as the cable is typically on the bottom of the boat sitting in the bilge water.

I just installed a new cable on my dd and I used one of the boots that your talking about. It worked great I used two hose clamps on either end to completely secure it to the steering shaft. Ill find the catalog and e-mail address that i ordered it from and post it on here after work. Also i purchased my flexible steering cable from the same place and I payed $90 for it. (check back in a couple of hours and ill post the website)

hey i just found the website Its Boatfix.com and the steering boot is about six up or so from the bottom of this page. Its made by Seadog http://www.boatfix.com/bypage2index.asp?page=524
hope that helps

Thanks Joshua for the info, I have a appointment to take my boat in at a MC dealer on Monday to have the cable replaced. $157.50 for labor & $123.00 for the cable, I think that is a good deal, save a lot of cussing for me, but I do want to put a boot on the new cable. Joshua can you take some pictures for me on how you clamped this boot on.
Thanks

yeah, but my boat is still in storage right now I'll get it out in a week or two and then i can take some pics.

Joshua, I'd like to see those pics too. I may have to replace a steering cable in an 02 X-star. Any other pointers or tips to make changing out the cable easier? I've heard that the cable can get hung up a lot while trying to pull it back through. Thanks.