Steering lockup

[drgibson]

Yesterday, I began getting my 98 2100i ready for the summer and realized my steering wheel only has 1/8 turn of movement to it. It was working fine when we put it away last year and the steering cable is only about a year or two old. The rudder seems to be move slightly when you get under the boat and try to turn it. What could be the problem?? We broke a steering cable a couple of years ago (that is an unpleasant ending to a day on the water) that never gave us any trouble. The new one came from Tige supposedly, althought the Tige dealer was so new they didn't have a separate service department for boats, just motorcycles. I wouldn't let them install it and took it back to the previous dealer that knew boats.
David

[Jeff LaHaye]

Corroded steering cable?

I would guess that you had moisture in the cable and it corroded and seized up over the winter.

Simplest way to check would be to disconnect the cable from the rudder at the rear of the boat (easily accessible on my 2001 2100V, don't know about your configuration) and make sure the rudder moves freely.

It's either the steering cable assembly or the rudder shaft.
If it's the rudder shaft, there is a zerks (sp?) fitting on the outside of the shaft housing to lube it with a standard grease gun - use marine grade grease (like Merc Quicksilver).

I had to replace the steering cable on my boat after just one year because it sat with too much water in the bilge for a few weeks and the cable corroded. (The dealer let the boat fill with rainwater while it was in his yard for service, then put the cover back on and let it sit! I had mildew everywhere in addition to this problem. Needless to say - he no longer services my boat!)
The Teleflex cable assembly is about $150, but the install is a bear.
I paid the $200 add'l to have it done, because best I could tell you had to drop the water pump to get to it.

My steering just got very stiff to turn, not totally seized up, but I can see how an extreme case would seize completely.

Good luck!

Jeff

[Tige M.D.]

any i series boat is easier than a v series. shouldn't take more than an hour to do the 98' 21i cable.

[drgibson]

Thanks guys, I have this funny feeling that the steering was locked up so back because I had the engine cover propped up with a pole which may have been sitting right on top of the cable. I have to go back to storage tonight and pull one of the new disk brake rotors off the trailer as it is bad (which I didn't notice until AFTER the install was complete) and I'll recheck that cable again. I'm going to be quite embarrassed if this is a self induced problem.
David

[drgibson]

Yep, I suspect I caused this one. I tried it once again and felt it pop loose so either it just happen to come loose at that moment or I had the propup stick sitting on the cable.