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Steering stuck on 1999 mercruiser alpha

R

rockstar08

New member
Its bound up, cant move the outdrive by hand and I have broke the steering rack/pinion by forcing it.

Trying to diagnose where its stuck, I have removed the clevis pin that attaches to the end of the steering cable. The clevis pin on the actuator ram is attached. The outdrive is still stuck.

Do I need to remove the hydraulic hoses or something, or is the actuator stuck? Will the outdrive move by hand with only the ram attached?

I tried to remove the steering cable, the nut is on too tight and there's barely enough room to move a crescent wrench a 1/4". Is it better to cut the steering cable and use an impact socket on the nut?

It did this one time before, the outdrive was hit by a lawnmower, we aggressively waggled it left/right until neutral and it worked again. No joy this time though.

-Jon
 
bondo said:
Ayuh,..... Pull that pin, 'n see if the drive will swing,....
Click to expand...

Pulled the lines, still stuck. Pulled the ram clevis pin, and she moved..

Managed to remove the bottom pivot bolt, then the top one and pulled the actuator.

So.. Both the steering cable and the ram were frozen. lol. I had to zip the cable near the nut, with a 4" cutting wheel.

For the past 3 years, I used Prestone automotive power steering fluid in the res. I guess I am going back to dextron iii ATF.
 
rockstar08 said:
Pulled the lines, still stuck. Pulled the ram clevis pin, and she moved..

Managed to remove the bottom pivot bolt, then the top one and pulled the actuator.

So.. Both the steering cable and the ram were frozen. lol. I had to zip the cable near the nut, with a 4" cutting wheel.

For the past 3 years, I used Prestone automotive power steering fluid in the res. I guess I am going back to dextron iii ATF.
Click to expand...


Or OEM PS fluid... This is not a car, the bilge area is a giant bathtub and you need a fluid that is designed to work in a constant humid environment.
 
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