Mercury 150 steering issues, slop in the main shaft?

[HavasuRyan]

I have an oil injected Mercury 150 outboard. When I bought the boat the steering (dual cable setup, 3 1/4 turns from lock to lock) was very difficult to move. I took apart the cables on the motor side and cleaned/lubed them. Now the steering is very easy on the trailer, and at low speeds. However, the faster I go, the harder it gets to steer. At 50mph it's a two handed wrestling match. Doesn't seem different really from one side to the other.
I have read many forums but don't think I found my answer. I have a high 5 prop, and a Para Lift jack plate. Currently the jack plate is stuck almost all the way down, I am getting a new motor for it. The prop centerline rides about 5" below the bottom of the boat so it shouldn't be an issue of the prop grabbing more on bottom than the top.

I did notice some slop in the steering shaft. I can grab the outdrive by the propane wiggle it. I'm assuming the bushings in here may need to be replaced? Or is this normal amount of movement?

https://youtu.be/6i3u0C0JhYQ

any help appreciated. If I need to replace bushings, how big of a deal is this. Trying to work out all the bugs in the cold months.

[flabum1017]

stiff steering you have can be corrected with the fin anode on the lower unit, just adjust it to the direction of the pull.......

[flabum1017]

If it's on a jack plate and the cav plate is out of the water at speed, then you will need a torque tab on the skeg

[HavasuRyan]

Doesn't seem to be a direction of pull. It's stuff both ways.

[HavasuRyan]

It's not out of water, don't think the torque tab is the answer? Jack plate is all the way down and still had the issue.

[HavasuRyan]

Can anyone watch the video and tell me if that's normal or abnormal play?

[flabum1017]

The play is due to a worn bushing down there.... a lot of work to replace, basically disassembling everything.. Back to the steering, sounds like the cables still have a problem...... try working them more while lubing them..... there is a thread here somewhere where someone made a steering nut to force lube up the cable to free it. try finding that thread. Otherwise, replace the cables

[flabum1017]

The prop centerline rides about 5" below the bottom of the boat so it shouldn't be an issue of the prop grabbing more on bottom than the top.



regardless of where the motor is height-wise, there is still torque, and more torque as you increase speed.

[HavasuRyan]

Yeah I understand that but from my reading the torque tab corrects difficult steering in one direction. I'm not experiencing that. I will try and find a manual or write up on doing the bushings. Thanks!

[flabum1017]

When a cable goes bad, whether it's a steering cable or control cable, once there is pressure applied to it such as torque from the engine, it will bind and cause stiffness. You can try force-lubing it, but in the long run, you will eventually need to replace it.

[HavasuRyan]

I will buy cables first then pursue the bushing if I continue to have problems. Thank you for the advice.

[mn808gade]

what shape is the prop in ?a beat up hifive createats a lot of steering wheel tourque-th

[j_martin]

Couple of us made adapters to lube steering cables. Mine's on post #37. Unless a cable is frayed, flushing it and lubing it with 5w30 synthetic should make it like new.

http://www.screamandfly.com/showthread.php?188864-Steering-Cable-Lube/page3

[Go Time]

The movement is not normal and probably not from the bushings. I'll be most of it is from the play between the yoke and swivel pin that has develop from the splines rusting/wearing away inside the yoke where the swivel pin shaft and yoke are joined. The bushings are nylon and rarely wear. Look up at the yoke and pin from below the midsection then move the engine....see where the slop is.

[flabum1017]

The movement is not normal and probably not from the bushings. I'll be most of it is from the play between the yoke and swivel pin that has develop from the splines rusting/wearing away inside the yoke where the swivel pin shaft and yoke are joined. The bushings are nylon and rarely wear. Look up at the yoke and pin from below the midsection then move the engine....see where the slop is.

I beg to differ here..... rarely does the yoke cause play, in fact most yokes i have had to remove were on pretty good. The bushing down there does get a beating and if used in salt water, the yoke will rust into place and the housing will corrode away around the bushing. I have even seen the clip that goes onto the bottom of the swivel pin fall off from the swivel pin rusting away and the yoke needing to be cut off.

[HavasuRyan]

The most of the play is at the very bottom of the shaft that the motor pivots left to right on. I can't get it to move much at the top and not much where it pivots to trim in and out.

[flabum1017]

The most of the play is at the very bottom of the shaft that the motor pivots left to right on. I can't get it to move much at the top and not much where it pivots to trim in and out.

Yeah, the bottom usually goes out first. on a fish boat, we usually don't worry about it much, but on a fast boat, you want everything tight as possible for safety

[HavasuRyan]

Loose can obviously cause it to be unstable but shouldn't cause my hard steering issue correct? Current plan is to replace both cables.
Or should I be going to hydraulic steering? Can anyone point me in the direction of an affordable kit??

[flabum1017]

Hydraulic is good, but dual cable has less play when set up properly. UFlex hydraulic steering is a very good system