Steer Cable frozen - replacement process?

[RONKFTL]

HELP - I relocated from CA to FL and my 26X was recently shipped to catch up to me but had been unused for awhile. I'm now told the steering cable and controls are frozen. Repair shop tells me that steering cables usually have a life of about 5 years so someone else must be replacing the 26X steering cable. My serviceman can't see how to do it without cutting a hole in the deck where the gas tank storage is. Any ideas from owners who have had this problem? It appears the cable is in place when the boat is assembled but after the fact change over appears difficult.Ron

 

[mrbill]

local link

Hi Ron, welcome to florida. now please leave!LOL, just kidding.... I think the local Mac dealer is in miami, near the palmetto xpressway.was performance marine ?try this link, for contacts on dealer service.www.Miami-macs.comwrite to Big Bill, and ask him for local service recommendations.all cables seem to freeze up over time, and I've always had some trouble on skiffs, but cuting the boat sees radical. bill should be able to put you in touch w/ local X owners... fwiw...

 

[Norm Gelbwaks]

Try Surplus Unlimited

I purchased a 10' SS1141 Rack Steering Kit from Surplus Unlimited (their 1088) for $130.62 (tax included) and it installed in about 3 hours in my 2000 26X. The biggest chore was removing the old Steering unit from the console. Phone 800-842-5403 - in Daytona Beach. hope this helps.

 

[Norm Gelbwaks]

Should have typed SS-141

I should have typed SS-141

 

[steve leon]

call blue water yachts

I am preparing to replace the steering cable on Panacea and since she is a '96, I have to do an upgrade on the steering gear box, so it is going to be more complicated than I originally had anticipated. Nonetheless, Gail at Blue Water Yachts in Seattle is great at customer service and I have found that their prices are usually better than other mac dealers I've found. She quoted me $108 for the cable. give her a call at (206) 282-4261 or check their website at http://www.bwyachts.com Gail owns a 26x and I am pretty sure Cheryl (who also works there) has a 26m, so they are not only dealers, they're owners too and like I said they are great at customer service. Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[Ron Giachetti]

Replacing my steering helm/cable too

I also have hard steering on my older 1996 Mac 26x. I already purchased for $124 the teleflex Quick-TC from the SurplusUnlimited store a previous person mentioned. My boat has a rotary helm, newer models have a rack and pinion. I started to remove the old one this week, but wasn't able to finish. Hopefully, this weekend I'll finish the job. You need to first remove the steering wheel. I purchases a steering wheel puller from an automotive store. I removed the steering wheel, but then after calling Teleflex technical help, I realized you had to turn the old cable out of the helm (the helm is the gear behind the steering wheel in the console). So back on with the steering wheel. At this point I stopped because it was getting dark. However, I believe I need to do the following to remove it: 1. open access panel. Loosen screws on helm. 2. Turn steering wheel to get cable out of helm. Remove cable completely from helm. 3. When the cable is removed from the helm it should fit out of the side of the pedistal. 4. The cable, I believe, should be removed from the engine side. The reason is the engine side of the cable has about 1 ft of rod. So, you need to pull it out from this side.I hope this helps.