Hydraulic steering?

[Fins in the Bin]

I’m going to pull off one of my bad 55 Johnson’s off and try the sled out with a single tomorrow. I started loosening most of it tonight but I need some help with the steering system. It looks like it’s hydraulic but I’ve never found a reservoir for it so I’m not sure what I’m getting into here.
I hope someone is looking tonight or tomorrow morning or I’m going to just crack it and deal with the fallout.

 

[sickcat]

If there is not a hydraulic ram on the engine it is cable steering. Looks like cable steering to me.

 

[Fins in the Bin]

Better pic

 

[dwaynesda]

It is cable steering, not hydraulic steering.

 

[ShadowX]

It would be hydraulic steering if you get water trapped in your cables.

 

[Fins in the Bin]

Going well for everything except the steering, it’s hydraulic and it was installed in 1978 so rust and corrosion are my friend today. Electrical, fuel and mounting are no problem but I don’t think I’ll be fishing La Jolla tomorrow….

 

[sickcat]

Do you have pics of the ram?

 

[MATTANZA]

don't look like hydraulic to me. the helm will have fluid in it , and will also be a ram with fluid in it. it has a cable , so it n must be mechanical.

 

[Fins in the Bin]

The motor that was removed was the master. The ram slips through a section of stainless pipe to secure the ram and have a mount for the linkage. The good motor has had the interior of that stainless pipe exposed to salt water since 78. I spent the day trying to ream it enough to get the ram to sleeve inside it but it’s still binding up. Electrolysis also fused the pipe to the aluminum motor on the good motor. I’m going to need a plan B

 

[Fins in the Bin]

You can see the steering attachment here before I removed it from the master, and you can also see all of the rust on the pipe on the good motor.

 

[Fins in the Bin]

Thanks for getting me straightened out on the cable not hydraulic gents, I may need to assemble an alternative linkage attachment or start fresh.

 

[sickcat]

To clean up the steering tubes on the engines I have gotten a steel rod about 3/4 the ID of the tube maybe 4-6" longer than the tube. Cut a slot in the end of the rod about 1 1/2" deep and get some emery cloth in 120 grit. Cut strips of emery cloth 1 1/2" wide long enough to put in the slot and wrap around the rod and have it fit into the tube snug but not too tight. Chuck the rod up in a drill motor and ream the rust and junk out of the tube. Wipe out as much of the grease out of the tube with solvent before you start.

The stainless rod shown in the pic in post #9 is part of the cable - no need to clean it up if your replacing the cable.

 

[Fins in the Bin]

That’s great advice I was getting ready to cut the wife’s broom handle and wrap it in 80 grit. I already hit the rod with a flap disc on my grinder and it helped, I’ll give it both of those treatments tomorrow for an hour and see if that keeps all my work on the stern. Silverback lol that’s one of my nicknames. Thx again

 

[Fins in the Bin]

I got it all done on Sunday, I just need to remove the old battery cables, control cable and linkages tonight which means some work in lifting and propping up the helm to get everything out. I plan on eventually repowering it with a new Yamaha 70, new steering wheel, cables and new throttle controls, but for now this gets me back fishing the bay and maybe the point until I can locate a new 70 and get on the list to get the work done. The boat is only a 17 so twin 55's was a very cool looking overkill but I think the weight reduction may pay off large in fuel efficiencies. I read a lot of opinions and reached out to King longboard 805 for input on his rig. He confirmed a lot of what I was reading and that reducing the weight on the stern by half really adds to the overall performance on a small boat.
RIP OG Rocket