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

Stephen,

Grady White is in Greenville, NC, near where I live. I can get their number
for you if you can't get this steering thing figured out.

John


"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

Also Sprach Stephen :
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??

Oh yeah, a real "fun" job. Spray the output end of the tube really well
with a good penetrant... WD-40 bites, Liquid Wrench is slightly better,
PB-Blaster or Kroil is excellent. Let it sit for a week, and spray more on
each day. Then try tapping it out. I once had very good success using a
long drift pin and a small hydraulic bottle jack placed between the end of
the steering rod and the edge of the transom cutout to press the steering
rod out. I'd save the propane torch for a last resort, but yeah,
sometime's it's necessary. After you finally get the rod out, go to Home
Depot and buy a 12" drill bit extension and a 1/2 inch pipe cleaning
brush, the kind used to prepare copper plumbing fittings for
soldering. Clip the handle off of the brush, and put the brush in the
drill extension. Use this with an electric drill to polish the inside of
the pivot tube. Finally, when you put it together, buy a pivot tube nut
with a shaft seal and grease fitting. There are two brands that I know of,
Davis Lube and the Steersman. I've tried both, and prefer the Steersman
brand, it has an O-ring seal which is held capitve inside a flycut, the
Davis Lube has a seal which is pressed in from the end, and is easy to
accidentaly pop out if you pack the tube with too much grease.

Dan

--
Ultralight (n) - A device intended to disprove the ancient theory that
lawnmowers were never meant to fly.

Agree w/ everything Marshall said.
However, you can try taking a large screwdriver or something and put thru
the hole in the end of the steering rod (or clamp a pair of vise-grips onto
the end) and try turning the rod. You might be able to break it free that
way. I have had to drive them out w/ a hammer before as a last resort.
Don't use heat as it will destroy the seals in the midsection.

--
Tony
my boats at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

"Marshall Banana" wrote in message
...
Also Sprach Stephen :
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??

Oh yeah, a real "fun" job. Spray the output end of the tube really well
with a good penetrant... WD-40 bites, Liquid Wrench is slightly better,
PB-Blaster or Kroil is excellent. Let it sit for a week, and spray more on
each day. Then try tapping it out. I once had very good success using a
long drift pin and a small hydraulic bottle jack placed between the end of
the steering rod and the edge of the transom cutout to press the steering
rod out. I'd save the propane torch for a last resort, but yeah,
sometime's it's necessary. After you finally get the rod out, go to Home
Depot and buy a 12" drill bit extension and a 1/2 inch pipe cleaning
brush, the kind used to prepare copper plumbing fittings for
soldering. Clip the handle off of the brush, and put the brush in the
drill extension. Use this with an electric drill to polish the inside of
the pivot tube. Finally, when you put it together, buy a pivot tube nut
with a shaft seal and grease fitting. There are two brands that I know of,
Davis Lube and the Steersman. I've tried both, and prefer the Steersman
brand, it has an O-ring seal which is held capitve inside a flycut, the
Davis Lube has a seal which is pressed in from the end, and is easy to
accidentaly pop out if you pack the tube with too much grease.

Dan

--
Ultralight (n) - A device intended to disprove the ancient theory that
lawnmowers were never meant to fly.

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