Outboard problem.

Rabbie

Rabbie

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I have purchased a (nearly new) Mercury 4hp 4 stroke Sailpower OB. There is a large wingnut at the rear of the leg which, when tightened, increases the tightness of the steering. This wingnut is fully tightened, yet there appears to be little pressure on the gubbins and the leg still rotates with thrust applied. I cannot see how this thing works internally and I do not have a manual. WD40 has worked a little but not adequate to stop the pivoting. This motor will be the main propulsion for my boat which is tiller-steered. Any ideas anyone?
 
I do not know about the Mercury but on engines I have owned i have found it virtually impossible to tighten that to the point where it completely prevents the rotation. With one I tightened it until I broke it and had to repair it. I now simply make it as tight as possible and avoid lubricating it. Although it must be said that the current one is a different design that can't be broken in the same way. It is however a friction clamp and oiling it would be much on a par with oiling the brake pads on a car!

You may be able to find a manual for your engine in the down load centre at http://www.brunswickmarineemea.com/homepage/welcome
or www.marinepower.com/download Although the website does not seem to be working at the moment.
 
I have the Merc 5 in a well and the same screw thingie. It seems to be stiff enough to stop the engine swivelling by itself and it is sometimes (often!) handy to be able to apply a bit of vectored thrust when I've misjudged the turning circle in a confined space!
 
The 'nut' is usually a bolt which pushes a rubber pad onto the leg to create friction. The whole swivel assembly can be taken to pieces by undoing the 4 bolts and you can then get to the inside. Excessive oil and grease may be a problem or you may just need to replace the rubber pad. I have seen one where the pad had been removed / lost so the bolt did nothing!

Yoda
 
I had a 9.9 Merc OB some years ago as main propulsion, and it was an easy matter to tighten the screw to 'lock' the steering in any position. This one just wont 'tighten' up.
 
The wingnut is unscrewed and comes off entirely, showing a small protruding threaded stud-like object with a spring surrounding it. It appears that when tightening the nut, this screw is withdrawn rather than screwd down onto a pad. It is obviously some kind of friction device but not easy to see how it works. Thanks for tips, which I will try.
 
I solved this motor turning problem by jambing a piece of large diameter rubber hose over the tiller/throttle end to extend it. This makes it easier to reach the throttle but also enables the tiller to drop into a gap between 2 pegs to hold it straight.
That makes it easy to lift the tiller and turn the motor for really tight turns.
To be honest in my case the pegs are one leg of the stern rail and a radio antenna. Just fortunate but it works out well. olewill
 
Hi Albert,

The system that your outboard uses is a stainless steel strap which is pulled tight around the leg casting when you tighten the wing nut. That's why you have a wing nut instead of the older wing bolt.

The reason it doesn't work is usually grease from the upper and lower swivel bearings finding its way onto the friction area. When you grease these bearings some of the grease comes out around the swivels and makes a mess on the outside and some goes down inside where you can't see it until it overwhelms the friction device.

The cure is as Yoda says. Undo the wing nut then undo the four bolts holding the swivel bearing assembly. Rememeber how the plastic quadrants, big rubber vibration bearings and friction clamp came apart. Clean off all the excess grease, degrease the friction area with solvent, lightly re-grease the plastic and rubber bits and re-assemble. Do all this with the motor lying down not mounted otherwise the motor will fall off the bracket when you undo the bolts.

If grease is not the problem and something is broken, this way you will find out what it is.

Or take it to a dealer and ask them to do it if you are not confident with this kind of job.
 
Drascomber. That sounds like the perfect answer to my problem - thank you, and thanks to others for input. Another job for the endless list!.
 
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