steering cable help...

Well, I took my boat out for the first time this year, and everything was going smooth when all of a sudden the steering bound up. The boat is a year old with 75 hrs on it. I detached the cable from the rudder, and the rudder works freely. Has anyone had good luck with somehow shoving grease in the cable, or am I destined for a new one? I need to know because I am supposed to leave with it for shasta friday morning. Are these things covered by warranty at all - I can call the dealer in the morning and ask but I figured you guys might know right now. Any input on the subject is appreciated.

Most warranties are for a year on items liek that unless you got the extended warranty. You need to replace the cable. My steering cable started to bind after only 120 hours. Once they get a little water in them it's a matter of time beofre they go out. Some have greas zerks you cna add grease too, mine didin't. Cables run from $100-$150.

Even if it is covered under warranty I don't know if the dealer could fit you in on such short notice. Its fairly easy to replace though, I did mine last spring. Do a search and I'm sure you'll find a thread where they walk thru how to replace the steering cable. The hardest part for me was finding the actual cable i needed. Of all places a jet boat place had the right one. Good Luck!

Is it common that it just seizes up? It was working just fine, and then all of a sudden it just jammed up. I see post saying to install a zerk fitting on the new one - where would I install it - anyone have a picture?

There are plenty of posts on here about steering cables so i assume its pretty common. Also I've read that in some instances you can get some grease in there and it works fine but in my case last year it didnt help at all. The zerk that came with the grease/oil i bought for the cable seemed like more of a hassle to install than to just grease w/o it.

I read that if you installed the zerk, you could grease on a regular basis and most likely never have to replace the cable ever again.

If it's rusted inside (which is why it binds 99% of the time), it might be too late for a zerk to help. You might be able to pull the cable out of the housing and clean everything really well and get by, but the steering performance would be compromised. If you do install a zerk, make sure you don't put it where it will bind the cable itself.

120 hrs. on my 03 and its in the shop now for a new steering cable. Had to order my cable so it wont be ready until next week . Between storing it for the winter and my 1st spring ride a few weeks ago the cable really took a crap.

Thanks JTW - makes me feel better to not be the only one. My dealer hooked me up with a new cable under warranty (even though its 2 months out of warranty) I have to put it in because I need it done by tomorrow. Kind of a nice suprise to save the 120 bucks or so to buy one. I was just looking at it and not sure where you would put a zerk fitting that wont cause any issues with the cable.

There are two things that will effect the life and stiffness of the control and/or steering cables:

1) water getting inside is bad...
2) small radius turns are really bad.


It is not uncommon for the steering cable to need to make a fairly tight turn up at the helm. Anywhere else, however, the bends should be very gentle. Often times the control cables will come in different grades (and prices), the primary difference being the radius of the turn they will tolerate. If you can't avoid the sharp turn, get the expensive cables.

A dry bilge will go a long way to keeping water from getting into the steering cable. Keep your bilge pump on!