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1984 Johnson Evinrude, 115 HP steering problem

S

Steve Jensen

New member
A friend suddenly started experiencing steering problems with his 115 HP motor. All is fine until he starts to throttle up and and then it takes Superman to turn the wheel in either direction. He replaced the steering cable but that did not have any effect. He then found that his transom was very rotten and just had that also replaced but, again, no help.

Since the boat has no tendency to fade either right or left while underway, we've more or less ruled out any adjustment of the trim tab. As long as the boat is sitting in his lift, the steering wheel can be turned in either direction with just a single finger and that holds true regardless of whether or not the motor is running. As soon as he puts the boat into the water and puts a load on the motor it takes two hands to try to turn the wheel.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
 
does he have a whale tail on the engine?there is also a grease fitting on the side of the motor that needs greasing...i would do the following but be damn careful and dont over rev..tie the boat tight with the bow square with the dock..ease it into forward and see if you got the problem...if you do then ease it into reverse and see if you got the problem.. please get back to us with the results...there are several factors here...number one is the motor mounted correctly on the boat?is the torgue changing the position of the steering cable in relationship to the motor?is the torgue making wear in the pivot of the motor bind?is this something that happened to a boat he has had for a while or is this a new rig to him?
 
If the engine steers easily when the engine is not running, I would suspect that the lower unit has been off recently and the trim tab was installed incorrectly when being reinstalled. However, should this be the case, the rig should be steering easily in one direction and quite hard in the other direction. The cure for this type problem is to (a little at a time) move the trim tab in the direction of the pulling action.
 
Papyson, thank much for your thoughts. I drove the boat this morning in the event I might notice something different than what the owner has told me. Not. Free spinning steering wheel while in the lift as well when I backed it out at idle. I began to notice the steering getting "tighter" when the tach was between 1400-155 RPM. Progressively worse at higher speeds but the boat steers a true track at 35 MPH with my hands SLIGHTLY off the wheel.

Your post has raised a "jolly roger" on my mast. As I mentioned, the steering cable was replaced, followed by the transom. IF the motor was not properly centered horizontally and aligned vertically, would that explain the boat tracking correctly while also addressing the steering difficulties?

Thanks again!!
 
Thanks for your interest, Joe. The owner bought both the boat and motor brand new and had never had a problem until late last summer. The steering is fine with or without the motor running. It doesn't become a problem until the prop is actually under a load from the water. He has never had any major work done on the motor and the lower unit has never been removed. The steering was fine while the boat was in the lift - one finger would spin the wheel. The same when we lowered it into the water and I backed it out of the hoist at idle. Starting forward it was fine until the tach was indicating 1400-1500 RPM. At that point the steering started to "tighten up" and seemed to get progressively worse with more speed. Please check my reply to Papyson. More input from both would be welcomed!

Steve
 
Something obviously is binding when thrust is applied. Almost impossible to say what that something is from a distance. Somebody suggested it may need lubrication, which I agree, but it is odd that it is that dry. At least give it a shot. Other than that, you are going to have to give it a physical examination.
 
get the motor up and running where you feel the bind or whatever...keep one hand on the wheel and pop the motor in neutral...try to turn the motor immediately and see if the bind is still there... is the steering cable attached to the boat near or on the transom? the transom and motor may be moving under load and change that alignment...if it is attached remove whatever is holding the steering cable...let it be a loose run from the wheel to the motor so it can move also..align it self so to speak...there is a lot of torgue applied to that transom...that motor is 28 years old and it could be wear in the pivot and the torque could be having the same effect..i have saw whale tails cause steering to become harder but never that hard but if its got one i would remove it for a test though...did he drop or bang the motor when he had it off to replace the transom? see if the cavitation plate is the same distance from the bottom of the boat on the starboard and port sides..it should be about even with the transom but for our purposes with this problem we are just checking the squareness of the motor with the bottom of the boat..i cant get past the point of the motor being removed and a new transom built and the motor being reinstalled and something changed..
 
Let us see some pics.
Can you simulate it on the lift ENGINE OFF, by just pushing fwd on the lower (or back on the top of the engine) while someone else tries to steer.
How was the transom replaced? Wood?
Was it a quality job?
 
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