08 RZ2 Steering Cable

[tyjova]

Hi All,

I just had a couple quick questions regarding a steering cable replacement before I get in too far over my head.

Took the boat in for summerizing and got a call from the shop that the boat is due for a new steering cable. Makes sense, I know it was pretty stiff to steer at the end of the season so I'm sure that's the case. The shop quoted $850 for the replacement which seems a little steep to me. I'm plenty mechanically inclined and have no problem doing something like that myself, but this would be something that I haven't done before since this is our first boat. After reading a handful of posts it seems as though it's not a terribly hard job to do yourself, but the majority of posts were on newer boats. Does anybody know if there is anything different about the way the cable is set up/routed on an 08 RZ2 to make it any more difficult than any other? Of course that's assuming a previous cable wasn't installed in some sort of complicated way. I just don't want to get halfway through the job and then realize that it's way more work than I had anticipated.

Also, I read several posts saying that a longer cable is better, is there any specific reasoning behind that? I'm having a bit of trouble trying to track down an exact part # to purchase, I know the Teleflex brand is what is normally used and the "extreme" version is preferred.

Thank you!!

[freeheel4life]

We bill 4 hours for a steering cable and cables are almost 200$ these days. So you'd be about 925$ at our shop.

It's not too tough, can sometimes be a pain. Some Tiges in this vintage have the cable running down thru a hole in floor at the helm with a little square cover around the hole. If you have this design the new cable will NOT fit thru the hole. You have to open up the hole big to basically the size of the square cover piece.

Old cable will have it's part number stamped on it. The last two digits are the length. I think it's a 19 foot cable in that boat.

[tyjova]

I did read a bit about that little square access panel, and it did make me nervous seeing that you have to open/cut that in order to get the new cable through. Though with this I'm sure having a handful of cables replaced already, maybe it's a decent assumption that it may have already been taken care of? Just a bit scary to think about that sort of modification.

I guess the pricing wasn't too far off then, I was a bit off on my guess for the hours that it would take. 19 feet sounds right from what I have read in other posts.

[freeheel4life]

I did read a bit about that little square access panel, and it did make me nervous seeing that you have to open/cut that in order to get the new cable through. Though with this I'm sure having a handful of cables replaced already, maybe it's a decent assumption that it may have already been taken care of? Just a bit scary to think about that sort of modification.

I guess the pricing wasn't too far off then, I was a bit off on my guess for the hours that it would take. 19 feet sounds right from what I have read in other posts.

It can be done faster but occasionally you have a boat that fights you and it takes longer(certain vintage 22v you uave to pull the hard tanks to access tiller arm linkage, some boats the cable goes thru the stringer and get hung up while trying to pull them etc etc). We simply flate rate and charge every inboard 4 hours for a steering cable across the board

Cutting the hole isn't bad. Mark carpet with sharpie around outside of cover. Air saw/Sawzall out the hole staying inside the line so covet still hides hole at the end.

[BCRider]

It's more time consuming than difficult. Worst part for me in my 09VE was getting my hands under the motor to get wrenches on the steering linkage. I recommend longer so you can have more routing options at the helm. From what I've learnt is in my 09 the cable comes up in the front locker whereas the older 08's and earlier it comes up at your feet at the helm. This requires the 09's and up to need the extra foot of length. The other reason I recommend longer is it allows you to route the cable out of the way if you have or are wanting to put a sub box through that helm wall. Lastly, I believe the original route for 08's was under the gas tank whereas 09 is on top.
Tie a string on to the end of the steering cable to make pulling the new one in easier.
Put your rudder straight and steering wheel level before attaching the rack. Will want a helper for this.

[tyjova]

Makes sense, thank you! More than anything I just wanted to make sure it was something that I wasn't going to get halfway through and decide it actually was something I should have taken in to have done professionally. I know the previous owner did a lot of customization to several different things so I wouldn't be surprised if that includes the steering cable.

As far as purchasing the new one, I know I can just take a look at the part # of what is in there currently and search that up online. Is that located on the cable itself somewhere relatively visible without taking it completely out first? Just curious since I know most methods like what was mentioned involve tying the old and new cables together so it's probably not super feasible to take the old one completely out first to see the part# correct?

Thanks so much for all the help, it is very much appreciated!

[BCRider]

Most likely SeaStar 19' SSC15419. Last two digits are the length.

The number is noted at the rudder end. Longer is better than shorter.