Hi All!! This is a hard one to do a search on and even my shop manual
doesn't cover it and I don't want to proceed to take anything apart
without at least a diagram. My Honda 90hp has been slowly been getting
harder to steer - nothing to do with the trim. Just out of the water,
there is a lot of resistance in the steering wheel. Used to be, I
could swing the motor left to right by hand - even when vertical -
just by pushing on the cowling. Now, even with the motor trailered
right up, gravity won't even pull it to one side. Obviously, first
thing I did was grease the two nipples - as I do every year, but ZERO
difference. I applied enough grease to expel the grease inside - which
was quite dark - through the crack in the pivot joints. I then removed
the control linkage from the push arm so that the motor was 'free'
from the steering wheel and you could practically swing it side to
side with a strong wind. So I then proceeded to remove the nut on the
driver side of the motor that attaches the push arm from the steering
wheel - sort of looks like a brake line type fitting. Ok, so when I
try an pull it apart to separate it from the motor, I can only go
about 2/3s the way as I've run out room to pull it any further but
what comes out from inside the pivot shaft of the motor mount is a
large tube with a smaller diameter rod inside it. This smaller rod
slides in and out of the larger as the wheel is turned. Anyone whose
worked on this knows what I am talking about. Both shafts looked shiny
but had only a thick film of old grease on them , requiring a rag and
several passes to remove, and not an even coat either. There was no
evidence of fresh grease. Even when I cleaned the shafts off and
reinserted them and pulled back out, they looked the same. I did this
several times. I then manually greased each rod. Surprisingly, once
reassembled, it seemed slightly stiffer at the wheel. So whats my next
step? And where is all the grease I am pumping through the nipples
going aside from through the cracks. Anyone know where I can find a
schematic of the motor mount?
Thanks a HEAP in advance.