Stiff/stuck steering - 07-185 Sport

[cdefreit]

My 2007 185 Sport has been sitting on the trailer unused for a 2-3 months with the drive lowered. I started the boat the past weekend on the muffs and let it run for 15 minutes or so. While it was running I tried to turn the steering wheel just a little, but it was stuck. Without putting a lot of force behind it, I gently rocked the steering back and forth a couple of times and then I was able to turn it. It feels very stiff though. The drive is not touching the ground. It does not feel normal and did require a moderate amount of force to start it moving in the first place.

I should add that the steering cable was replaced once under warranty when the boat had about 50 hours on it. The cable seized pretty hard that time.

Is there any part of the steering cable that I should grease up or check?

Should I be concerned? I thinking when I put it in the water and exercise it a little that it will free up. The power steering reservoir looks good too.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

-Collin

 

[Estsurf]

That's fairly unusual to have a sterndrive boat have steering cable issues. Especially in that short amount of time. There are no grease point on the steering cable or the hydraulic ram. What I would suggest doing is disconnecting the cable from the ram and have someone turn the wheel while you hold it out of the way of any obstacles. This will tell you if it is in the cable or helm or in the power steering system. Disconnecting the cable is pretty easy as well.