I could be worse my 73 Merc 850 had a crack in the steering pivot and siezed
up on me. When we finally tilled the motor up and ran the Cook tilt trim up
so that the steering pivot was slightly inverted we forced PB Blaster in
through the grease fitting under 100 pounds of air pressure then we heated
it with a torch. (sounds like the making of a bomb, eh) This is after
wrapping the lower bushing with cotton cord to seal it. With a six foot 2X4
clamped to the lower end we finally broke it free. Thank goodness the lower
end finally froze up last year and I replaced it with a 1986 Johnson that
runs like a top!

The trick with the pipe cleaner and the drill works great I had to do that
also.

Mick


"Stephen" wrote in message
om...
My Grady White Overnighter suffers from a completely frozen steering,
which appears to be the stainless bar that is supposed to slide back
and forth inside the tilt tube of the 120 HP outboard. The whole
system was replaced last year. I am guessing that the salt (I live on
the Maine coast) might have siezed it up over winter storage. If I
unscrew the cable end from the tilt tube I can move the wheel and the
screw fitting moves in and out (which must indicate that the cable
itself is fine) but the bar on the other side that couples to the
engine will not move. It is stuck about halfway in/out. I have tried
wacking with a hammer and even prying carefully in and effort to move
the thing. A friend suggested heating the bar with a torch as a way to
break it loose. Does anyone have any clever suggestions??

-Stephen