Helm Issues

[Alz0r]

Oh dear, first outing of the "season" this sunday. Got off our mooring, ( outside trot of 3, on a strong current) - steering immediately siezes up!

Quickly uncouple the bolt on attached to the steering cable and tiller our way to open water - what a drama!

Not the first though. This happened same time last year and we replaced the entire helm / cable run.

Can anyone suggest why this has happened again, and a possible solution?

Cheers

 

[jfm]

eek, bad luck

We need more info.

It's cable push-pull steering, right?

You unbolted the steering cable from the tiller and the tiller is fine, not seized. Right?

So the seizure is in the cable or the helm box. You need to isolate which of those it is. Cant do that here, based on the info you've given. If the steering wheel shaft will turn a little bit, that suggests it is the cable that is seized. If the st wheel shaft is itself siezed, you should be able to see that and you should be able to move the push-pull cable a few mm becuase there is always some backlash in the helm gearbox. The helm unit may be strip-downable to unseize it. The cable will need to be replaced if it can't be exercised free

All this was new last year? Sounds strange - you need to see if it's got very wet, or was badly installed, or something, as it shouldn't seize so soon

 

[MapisM]

[ QUOTE ]
Can anyone suggest why this has happened again

[/ QUOTE ]Besides previous suggestions, was it by chance hard to steer, after detaching the cable?

Welcome to the madhouse, anyway!

 

[ulava]

Need more Info,is it an outboard? Type of boat?
Type of cable and length of run?

 

[Richard10002]

Does the cable run through a conduit... I have had the stiff steering problem which was solved by pouring oil, then grease, down the conduits.

I do this every couple of years and, so far, so good.

 

[Alz0r]

thanks for the replies all.

we've just been back onboard and we've narrowed the problem down to the piston arm that is attached to the rudder. It's a beta marine 25 inboard diesel engine by the way, with a "push and pull" steering system, with a cable inside a conduit.

Anyway there is a externally threaded tube in which a piston arm sits. A brass nut at the cable end holds the conduit in place (and with this nut removed, turning the wheel moves the piston back and forth - proving it's not a cable issue or a helm issue?).

We're assuming there's a spring attached to the end of the cable and to the piston arm (inside the threaded tube). There is also a ball which sits on the thread, and inside a clamp (with acts as the pivot / anchor point for the piston). But the piston arm isnt moving freely in and out of the threaded tube. We've hit it with a hammer with no movement, although it WILL rotate slightly and it feels like it's still attached to the spring.

We're stumped! Any thoughts?

Cheers /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif