I just went throught the same problem. I just installed pulley plate and new cables. By the way don't buy cables from Edson unless you want to spend $300.00. I bought the 3/16 cable and hardware for under $30.00 at West Marine. The pulley plate should face the rudder post. The way to tell is that you can see where the cable comes down through the deck. This side should be on the bow side. The pulleys and the left right adjustment bolts should face the stearn. Another bit of information to consider is the angle of the cable to the rudder plate. I installed the plate without any spacer and now I am having to add some pulleys to push the cable down about an inch so not to wear the cable against the rudder plate. Good luck it was a real pain getting the rudder plate adjusted. Let me know if I can help.