Steering cable failure analysis

Last week when my Teleflex steering cable seized up in my '01 Supra, I did a lot of research trying to figure out the proper lubrication for the cable. I couldn't find anything conclusive - many people said to use sewing machine oil and others said lithium marine grease which I couldn't find at Boaters World, West Marine or four auto parts stores. In order to satisfy my curiosity of why my old cable failed, I tore it apart. What I found was that it just plain RUSTED. The internal cable is made of steel strands wrapped with a flat steel sheath. Only the 3' towards the stern were rusted.

I guess my plan is to just keep the steering tube full of marine grease and hope no water gets in there again. I added a grease zerk to the steering tube (not the steering cable) to make this easier. Seems like it would also be helpful to keep the steering cable higher than the rudder so that water would drain out rather than in. Unfortunately it's too late for that since I already ran the cable the same way it was originally. This seems like a pretty common problem that cable manufacturers and boat manufacturers should address but haven't.

All cables should have a zerk installed from the factory. I was able to save a completely frozen cable by just adding a zerk and getting grease all the way into the cable. Never had a problem again, just routinely pumped fresh grease in. BTW Morse makes a replacement cable that is twice as thick.

There's no place on a teleflex cable to add a zerk. All of the metal places are crimped. I saw your posts from before and looked at doing that.

Can somebody point me to a web site with the Morse cable? All I see is Teleflex-Morse. It's too late for this cable since I put on what Boater's World had in stock, Teleflex.

Peter, how did you add the zerk fitting? Just drill and tap a cable end or did you put it in the plastic sheathing on the cable and seal it with silicone?

My factory Teleflex cable on my Nautique is very tight now but I think it is still salvagable if I could grease it.

The replacement is $190 due to it's odd length of 19.5'.

For $190 I bet you can get a Morse cable as I paid about $175 years ago. As for the length you take yours out measure it then get a cable that is either slightly longer which is what I did, or get on shorter if the one in the boat has extra slack already.

This discussion has a couple of really bad pictures that I posted, but should explain a lot. When I installed the zerk fitting I drilled the hole then finished it off with a die ginder and small bit, and was very careful not to nick the cable. I am sure you could do it with the cable still in the boat, just free up a few feet of the end.
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/60173.html

Hi Peter, it's been a while.

After replacing one or two cables on my boat, I called Teleflex and talked with a technical rep. He told me that they are aware of the issue, but that Teleflex views it as a boat design problem. The short story: The steering cable end is not designed to become submerged. But, boat manufacturers (in particular, ski and wakeboard boat manufacturers) locate the end such that it will become periodically submerged. Since there is no cost-effective way to make the cable end waterproof, it is inevitable that water will intrude and the cable will corrode. The only solutions are: (a) boat manufacturers can redesign so that the rudder post is taller to keep the cable end out of the water, (b) use grease to reduce or slow water intrusion.

He specifically recommended against installing a zerk fitting as Teleflex has seen instances of hydraulic lock when people have put too much grease into the cable. He also said he thought you might have problems with water entering at the zerk, although it seems like this shouldn't be an issue. Basically, he was concerned about any penetration through the cable sheath.

Instead, he recommended removing the cable from the rudder post and guide near the post, then packing the guide by hand with OMC Triple Guard grease (he said not to use waterproof wheel bearing grease because it is designed for high-temp applications and is not as effective as a general purpose waterproof grease in this application). Clean and repeat every couple of months. The idea is to stop the water from getting into the cable, not to lubricate it...so this "fix" won't fix a cable that is already damaged.

How would i find out how long my cable is? Can't really get down there and measure it. I've got a 19' malibu 1990...

I need a new cable pretty bad i'm thinking... I can't turn the wheel with one hand, it's very tight.

http://www.flashingback.com/malibu

thanks,
kal

JR I agree with you 100% on the cable being to low in the boat. My cable went out when someone turned off the little red light on my dash thus filling my boat with a couple inches of water.

As for the hydraulic lock all I have seen it do is squish grease out the end. The cable needs to be "tested" anyhow to move the grease around and any hydraulic problems should be found at this time, with the boat on the trailer.

I guess I feel that the manufacturers have found a way of having sales opportunities well into the future. "Since there is no cost-effective way to make the cable end waterproof" To me again it does not seem like adding a decent seal would be that hard, but they would loose their reoccuring profit.

Hope all is well with the family, looking forward to seeing you again in the future. Heal that ankle!

Kal, you have to pull your cable out to measure it.

I don't recommend pulling your current cable out because you will use it to pull the new one through. Makes installation really easy. Once you know the path the stock cable takes, just measure the route the cable takes as best you can then add a foot or two and make a loop or two if you have to with the extra cable.

Most that I have seen have the rack attached, and it would be impossible to pull a rack through the hull. If you want to you can pull a piece of wire out attached to the cable. My Nauty was super easy to feed the cable back in but that is the only boat I have done a steering cable on so far. It only took me about 30 minutes to pull the cable out.

The cable should be seperate and removeable from the rack. I can't imagine you have to replace the rack every time you replace the cable.

Check it! It shows how to measure with the rack.
http://www.teleflexmorse.com/scripts/PDF/Lit_Downloads/tfxtremerack_new.PDF
http://www.teleflexmorse.com/scripts/PDF/backmount.pdf

I really do not know much about boats and may be wrong but this is what I have seen.

I get what you're saying. Seeing that pic, I would cut the old Rack off the old cable and attatch the rudder end of the new cable and pull it through front to rear so the new Rack would never be pulled inside the hull, just the cable.

Ah too messy. Easier to just ram the cable, that barely bends, down into the hull and guide it back into place. Especially on an inboard where you are only going a few feet before the cable is visible again.

You can disconnect the cable from the rack. They take a 10 MM socket and problably an impact gun or the cable will spin.

Messy? A snip with a pair of dikes and some masking tape and ur done! Obviously you haven't done too many cable replacements on any other boats besides your own. You would be "ramming the cable" for days and not get anywhere. It is preferable to work smart instead of hard!

Haha...a pair of dikes? You must have a better pair than my Snap-on pair. If I was to cut the cable it would be with a die grinder. I do not own a cable cutter as I have never needed one...at least not yet. The oxy/actylene would just burn holes everywhere, as would a plasma cutter, so my tools are limited

As I said I have never done a cable replacement except my own so I do not know much. Rookie! LOL

What is wrong with ramming? Nothing wrong with brute force and ingnorance is there? Working smart is pulling something through with the cable so you can pull the new one right back though, which is what I suggested above. In fact I left an unused wire running through the hull just to pull accessories through, anytime I needed too.

Someday we should ride together! I booked myself heavy for this Friday though. Sebastopol first then off to Napa for the rest of the day. Saturday I have to be in Roseville to do a presentation at a GM training clinic, then Sunday is the dog show at the Marin Civic Center. In other words no go this weekend...Soon though my schedule should lighten up. I rode Monday for the first time in ages and was super rusty.

I have Malibu VLX 03, 190 hrs , really hard to steer........they say every two years it should be replaced. Parts are about $200.00. Anyone else have this problem?

Like I said, I added a zerk to the steering tube so I can fill it with grease a couple times a year. This should help keep the water out. (I didn't take a picture with the Zerk.)

I was thinking about clamping a hose over the steering tube and connecting the other end through fittings to an air compressor. Then fill the hose full of grease and pump it in the cable using air pressure.

I wonder if this would help solve the problem?
http://www.iboats.com/products/7/4063_t_r_steering_cable_boot.html

By the way, I used an angle grinder to cut the cable. You'd be there all day with a pair of snips, and Oxy-Acetylene and grease are a bad combination. There's no reason to cut it though. I just did it for R&D.

You don't need to cut the old cable.....

Tie rope, or better yet an electricians "fish" to the rudder end of the old cable and pull that through as you pull the old cable out. Attach the rope/fish to the new cable and pull it back.

Between my dad and myself I have had boats with steering cables for many more years than I care to admit. I have only had to replace two: The first one was after the boat sank and sat on the bottom of the lake for a few hours. The steering started getting tight almost immediatly and only got worse over the following months until we finally replaced it.

The second time I had to replace a cable was because the outer sheath was damaged. It chaffed against a sharp edge of the hull where it was tightly bent. Once I got the old cable out you could see that it had penetrated the sheath and every around that spot was rusty.

I am quite pleased with the service life I get from my steering cables.

Throttle and shift cables are another story......


Rod

Whoops, dikes was the wrong tool choice. I was thinking bolt cutters. Cut-off tool would be quick also. It makes no sense to me to run any other cable or wire when there's allready one there that's coming out anyway...might as well make it easy on yourself...old out...new in. One easy step, but hey whatever gets er done.

Peter, don't offer unless you mean it! I like hooking up with new people. The locations you mentioned are right near where I am. I am in the automotive and marine service trade as well. Snap-On rep eh? Awesome product!