Stiff steering

[martlabre]

Hi ,i just bought a 26m 2004, engine mercury 60hp. Everything fine, but when i am using the engine, the steering become harder to turn faster i go and feel and heard cracking inside , it so bad i dont want to use it anymore...i always think i am gona loose the steering. At very low speed steering turn easy???

[Paul S]

Unless you changed it, you WILL need a new steering cable. The original ones are horrible. Surprised it lasted this long.

It is fairly easy to upgrade.

There are several issues at play:

the rudders are not even close to parallel. If you can bend the tie rod inside the boat til they are parallel, it will help a lot

The motor is heavy, you have to lift the monster each time you turn, unless you disconnect it. This puts a lot of stress on the steering rack.

If you motor fast (6kts+) with the rudders down, this will cause a LOT of stress on the system, and make it very difficult to steer.

You will lose your steering. The noise you hear is most likely the teeth in the rack breaking. Thats what happened to our boat!

Do a search on this forum, you will find a few posts on it, how to do it, what to buy, etc.

Paul

[Don T]

Hello,
You Didn't say, so I'll mention it. If you are motoring with the rudders down, the steering will get very stiff as your speed increases. In this case it is normal, nothing wrong (don't do that).

If you are motoring with the rudders up (centerboard too) and the steering gets stiff as you increase power, I would be looking at the motor pivot mechanism. Other than torque forces applied the steering should not be difficult while planing. If the steering cable is bad it will be stiff at all times.

Don

[martlabre]

I am motoring with the rudders and centerboard up.
And the steering ok at low speed (less than 5mph) or stop.
Yes, the steering gets badly stiffer as i increase power???

So you think it could be at the motor pivot mechanism.

Thanks
Martin

[R Rae]

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... =8&t=15483

Under Repair and Modification check out my recent mod. to replace the old style rack and pinion, with the rotary gear system. Very easy to install and ssoo ssmmoooth!!





.

[c130king]

Happened to me back in 2007.

Steering Broke

Good luck.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König

[Paul S]

I am motoring with the rudders and centerboard up.
And the steering ok at low speed (less than 5mph) or stop.
Yes, the steering gets badly stiffer as i increase power???

So you think it could be at the motor pivot mechanism.

Thanks
Martin

First, you WILL have to replace the steering cable. Do it now before it fails when you are out on the boat.

I find the steering does get stiff as you motor faster. I think it is just the design of the boat/steering. The steering system is a weak spot, at least performance-wise. The early non-teleflex steering systems are very weak. When I changed to the teleflex, and adjusted the rudders, it got better, but still isn't as smooth as I would like it.

Just make sure all the pivots are greased. Not much adjustment there. Make sure the motor is all the way down, trim it if you get on a plane if it needs it. It will never be as good as a powerboat..but you can get it good enough.

[Gypsy]

I too have very stiff steering , but I traced my problem back to the motor. The boat sat for a year and I suppose in that time it locked up .
I greased it thru the one available grease nipple , and that unlocked it , but its still very stiff .
This one nipple only forces grease into the lower part of the pivot/steering column.

I took out the adjustment screw , that evidently is there to tighten up the steering , and that didn't help .

I think if I could get grease to the top of the steering pivot that the motor steers by , it might loosen up .

My plan is to find a grease nipple whose threads match the adjustment screw and put a nipple in its place to force grease in and around the top of the pivot or steering column .

Anybody else have this problem with Honda 50s ?

[Paul S]

IIRC there is an adjustment for friction. Mine was way tight. loosening it made a world of difference..as well as greasing it.

[martlabre]

I did grease it tru the nipple motor pivot mechanism till the old grease all come out and the new ones apears.

I found out the the old style rack and pinion have been change ( before i buy the boat ) by the rotary c-290 Teleflex...no longuer produced...???? by the company.

I did some ajustment on link bar to have less loose between it and the motor.

Now lets go and try it..hehe !!

[Hardcrab]

The good thing is the steering can be broken into smaller pieces to see where the problem is.
If you suspect the motor itself, then disconnect the short arm to isolate it.
This is how I found my hard steering problem to be the pivot bolt at the end of the steering cable where it couples to the starboard "pitman" arm.
I just wanted to disconnect the steering cable from all the MAc steering linkage stuff to see if my hard steering was associated with the steering box/cable or the engine/linkage stuff.
The very bolt I was going to remove for testing was the hard steering culprit the whole time, lucky for me.
Somehow the pivot bolt tightened up and was very hard to steer because of it.
Now I use double nuts at that pivot point with just enough pivot friction to be sweet.
And lube it once and awhile.

[csm]

I would think that a bad steering cable would be stiff regardless of speed. This pure speculation, but I suspect the vertical pivot shaft (midsection of motor) may have a binding issue. Never had that part of a motor apart, but I'd imagine there are a couple of bushings or bearings that the motor pivots on.......I'd check those out. good luck.

[nicoledc109]

Happened to me back in 2007.

Steering Broke

Good luck.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König

Thanks you for the post.

__________________
Watch Ramona And Beezus Online Free

[Gypsy]

I know that my steering problems are in the motor , itself . Before I launched it I disconnected all the linkage and tested it .

Besides trying to find a second grease nipple to replace the tightness adjuster , I am going to make a little bracket to extend the bracket on the engine , where the steering arm connects to it . This will make a biiger "lever" and should ease the steering pressure some. It will decrease my sharp turning , however , but maybe not enough to matter .