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Do steering cables become "unstiff" if worked with?

Vincent Pacilio

Jet Boat Lover
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Yamaha
Year
2013
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Limited S
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  • I never welded anything in my life, so this wouldn't be straight forward for me! I do a great root canal though!

    Did you have to remove the steering wheel and or column, or were you able to reach underneath the consul and disconnect the steering cable?
    Do you then tie a rope to the old steering cable and pull it through, and then tie the rope to the new steering cable, and pull it through? Then hook things back up?
    Why was the stern nut so difficult to remove? Corrosion?

    Time is my limiting factor in life. SO I bought the steering cables and will take them along to Canada with me. Hopefully my good relationship with the head mechanic at the marina I deal with in Canada will be understanding about using my parts! (he was an apprentice at the marina 15 years ago when I was building my cottage (I'm a wood and sawdust guy, not a grease monkey). He stayed in one apartment at the marina, and I would stay in the other apartment at the marina the weeks I was working on my place. We played chess.
    No rope needed. Pull up deck cover over gas tank. Pushed the steering side of cable forward than the pushed the stern side. . The nut Is caked with putty so you have to after you scrape
    Away the putty on the outside n inside the stern. I than tapped the jet side of the cable with a hammer to dislodge from the hole it passes through. Did not remove steering wheel , easy access from front compartment. You could use a 22mm off set box wrench to loosen but it was just easier with tool
    I made up. My stern side cable was good but I will replace in the fall( I will video / pictures this time. Pretty easy of a procedure.
 

Wade Guisbert

Well-Known Member
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  • No rope needed. Pull up deck cover over gas tank. Pushed the steering side of cable forward than the pushed the stern side. . The nut Is caked with putty so you have to after you scrape
    Away the putty on the outside n inside the stern. I than tapped the jet side of the cable with a hammer to dislodge from the hole it passes through. Did not remove steering wheel , easy access from front compartment. You could use a 22mm off set box wrench to loosen but it was just easier with tool
    I made up. My stern side cable was good but I will replace in the fall( I will video / pictures this time. Pretty easy of a procedure.
Good to know! I think somewhere I read or you wrote it's much easier if you do this with two people! Is that right?
 

boudin

Jet Boat Addict
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2008
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AR
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21
In my experience, any kind of lubricant sprayed/forced through the cable will work temporarily, but will eventually pickup dust/dirt and then get bad over time. The casing is often split somewhere allowing water intrusion and then rust.

The cables are relatively inexpensive, and pretty easy to change. My advice would be to do both of them at the same time.

Not sure about the 2013, but on my 2008 a #4 square driver is needed to remove the deck over the fuel tank:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A8QGXAM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

To remove the nut at the back of the boat, 22mm pass-through socket, and grab it with a large pair of pliers. Much cheaper than buying the whole kit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0195V3TFW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


-Greg
 

Vincent Pacilio

Jet Boat Lover
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Good to know! I think somewhere I read or you wrote it's much easier if you do this with two people! Is that right?
My 11 year old son was my helper. Teaching how to
Diagnosis n repair equipment. Always good to have a helper; but can be done alone .
 

Scottintexas

Jetboaters Admiral
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@Wade Guisbert I think I would roll the dice and not change them, rarely do we see them break, normally people just notice the difficulty turning and it causes them to be replaced,

your boat may be slightly different because of the year but basically it's the same,
check out these posts from our FAQ tab at the top of the page for great DIY instructions,

https://jetboaters.net/faq/how-do-i-replace-a-broken-steering-cable.76/

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