Replacing steering cable & helm for a Mercury 60

[jprstoney]

How easy is it (for someone of moderate intelligence) to replace a helm unit and steering cable for a Mercury 60 on a 5.3m RIB?

It looks quite straight forward but I've played this sort of game before....

 

[michaelh]

I would have thought it very straightforward.

Pull off steering wheel. Unscrew mount. Detach cable drum/gear Detach from Engine. Pull out cable. Refit in reverse.

 

[jprstoney]

My thoughts exactly but the Mercury service centre used to make this sort of job take 2 days and cost a fortune.

I wondered if there were any nasty surprises lurking around the corner. Escpecially at the outboard end....

 

[michaelh]

Well I had an old Mariner that had the cable seized through the steering tube. It was being scrapped so never tried hard to get it out, but in the worst case it would have meant a new steering tube which would have meant holding the engine up whilst this was replaced.

If the engines currently in service this shouldn't be likely. You could always slacken off the cable and see if its free to come out.