Upgrade Steering On 16ft Bayliner

[zheka]

Hello. I have a 1999 16' Bayliner, with a Mercury Force engine, and steering on it, is a workout. I've been looking to upgrading it, but I'm not sure what would be best, hydraulic or power steering.

Also the other day, I came across a video on YouTube from 8 years ago, about a system called Invisible Touch. They were able to turn their wheel with one finger at WOT. Does that system exist? Is there maybe a cheaper similar version 8 years later?

What's your recommendation?

TIA.

 

[Quicksilver]

What HP is the motor? If it's very hard to steer even out of water it could be the cable needs oiling, the swivel tube is seizing from lack of lubrication (I would check this before spending money), the steering head is worn out. The size of the wheel also makes a difference, smaller less tork.

 

[zheka]

What HP is the motor? If it's very hard to steer even out of water it could be the cable needs oiling, the swivel tube is seizing from lack of lubrication (I would check this before spending money), the steering head is worn out. The size of the wheel also makes a difference, smaller less tork.

90HP, outboard. Thank you. I will try to lubricate, and see if that helps.

 

[Texasmark]

Agree you have a friction problem with your current setup....what you propose is for 200 hp more or less sized engines.

Disconnect the cables center pin connecting arm (bolt) from the engine at the front of the engine. Test movement of the remote control and separately test the movement of the engine. One of the two will probably indicate binding. If the engine, on the Port side of the mid section of the engine, is/should be an orifice, may look like a grease zerk but a "port" made to lubricate the transom bracket to engine connecting tube. This port was designed to use the Mercury tube 2-4-2 I think is the name of it, tube of teflon impregnated marine (blue/black) Mercury/Quicksilver marine semi-grease lubricant with a pump style adapter. One could take the adapter off the end of a rigid tube grease gun with the ⅛" outlet tube, put the end of the tube on the port and pump away, rotating the engine back and forth as you fill the hole.....till you see grease emitting from the top or bottom of the pivoting interface of the engine and transom bracket interface.

On the cable, lube the cable....note, if the cable was kinked whereby the center conductor is now kinked, you cannot straighten that out....replacement will be required. if corrosion is your problem, lube maybe or maybe not can fix it. Otherwise a new cable is in order. If a Teleflex brand cable, near the end of the cable, on one or the other end, embossed in the black plastic sleeve, is the part number of the cable stamped in white.

Last, if you think you have a bad cable and to replace it would require removal and disassembly of the remote control, go ahead and remove the control and the cable and while there, check to see if the control itself is what is binding and lube it up and test the cable while you are at it with the cable disconnected at both ends.

Somewhere in this you will find your smoking gun!

 

[zheka]

Agree you have a friction problem with your current setup....what you propose is for 200 hp more or less sized engines.

Disconnect the cables ........

........Somewhere in this you will find your smoking gun!

Thank you so much!!! Will look into all that in the next upcoming days.

 

[zheka]

Agree you have a friction problem with your current setup....what you propose is for 200 hp more or less sized engines.

Disconnect ....

[FONT=&quot]So after I disconnected the motor, the motor moves very easy, but the steering is pretty hard without the motor. It seems like when the rod goes in, about half way, it starts to steer easier all the way in, and same out, half way out it's pretty easy, then midway until it's fully out, gets harder to steer.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I watched several YouTube videos, where they slide that rod completely out, to clean it, but I think I will be harder on my boat to take that out, since it's an open space if the rod would be pushed out. It would be hitting that cutout space where the cable and wires coming out of.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Would I have to get that rod out completely to start looking into the tilt tube as my next step?[/FONT]

 

[zheka]

So I started taking the steering rod out, but I'm not sure how it would come all the way out. I have the rod half way out (I think), but it won't come out any more, because the hole is higher than the rod, and the cable is already at an angle, that I don't think it can be pulled out further.

 

[Texasmark]

I think you are showing us your problem. a "kink" right there in the middle of your picture. You have to remove the engine (an auto engine removal roll around stand is perfect with an adapter that screws into the threads on top of the flywheel on the engine) to get the cable out. My last boat was an early model of the popular, light weight, pretty much John boat with a Vish bow, aluminum 16-18' bass boats of today. The steering rod was forced into the configuration of the boat as is yours. As a result they kinked the center wire. I bought it 2 years old and apparently the PO put up with that for 2 years.

I bought a new cable and control.....control because the control was a Quicksilver 3000 that mounted IN the bulkhead with the wires hidden and emitting from a hole adjacent to the engine. The problem with the control was that to get fast idle you had a big black button you had to push and hold to get the lever to control throttle without shifting....mechanism wore out.

The new box was a 2000 Series, mounted ON the bulkhead, fast idle lever right out there in the open, nice and useable, cables were exposed, ran them (including new steering cable) along the side of the boat, across the TOP of the rear casting deck and made a nice clean "sweep", on the same elevation right into the hole in the transom bracket. Ala...steering very smooth and easy to rotate.

 

[zheka]

I think you are showing us your problem. a "kink" right there in the middle of your picture.

I think it looks like a kink, is because I have that rod pulled out half way, as much as I could pull.

And since it created a "kink", the rod will not come out any further, because the cable is not bending any more.

If I push that rod back inside the tube, that "kink" will be very gradual.

 

[Quicksilver]

You'll have to tilt the motor up on the starboard side somehow, this might be done by removing all the bolts except for the top port one and tilting.
However if this seems dangerous have a lifting device attached to the flywheel and lift the motor completely off the boat.

 

[Texasmark]

You'll have to tilt the motor up on the starboard side somehow, this might be done by removing all the bolts except for the top port one and tilting.
However if this seems dangerous have a lifting device attached to the flywheel and lift the motor completely off the boat.

The engine usually has hooks that rest on top of the transom when the engine is set to the lowest position. Unless the engine was jacked up to the 3rd or 4th hole and you had all the bolts out but the one on the Port side, top bolt, the pivot point would be that Port bracket on top of the transom and all bolts would have to be out.

I have jacked engines up by using the trailer tongue jack with the engine's skeg sitting on the concrete. Works best with 2-3 people.

Rental agencies carry the engine hoists and half a day's rent would/should do the job. Ebay is where I got my engine adapter for lifting.

 

[johnson110]

I did a steering cable on my bayliner last year, I had to cut the hole that the steering cable goes thru to get new cable in. I cut the out cable at the motor with a sawzall then pulled the cable out from the helm. I find that cleaning the hole were the cable goes thru the motor is very important, I used a long wire brush on a drill and kept on cleaning that tube out then sprayed carb cleaner in the tube to clean all gunk out. It is a doable job just be patient !

 

[johnson110]

Oh I was able to do this job without lifting the motor not easy but it can be done my bayliner is the capri with a cuddy cabin motor 115 hp mercury.