A friend of mine has a 2002 X and is complaining of difficult steering.....too hard to steer, basically. He reports that the boat has been stored in a barn and not left out in the weather and storm.
I believe that a 2002 has a replaceable cable, as he has already checked for binding and kinks. He is taking his boat on vacation to the upper Mississippi out of La Crosse, WI and doesn't want his trip to go awry due to a steering problem....
Thank you all for any input on this mechanical problem. (I might get a new cable myself to have on hand)
Only one way to fix it, and that's a new steering cable. Lots of info already on this site, so search it out. Before I installed a new cable, I had terrible almost unusable steering. I then put on a new teleflex , and it was night and day difference.
It may be a case of lack of lubricant,if it is a rack and pinion system,remove the acess hatch at the steering binicle,there will be a long gray metal box attached to the steering shaft,remove and have a look,check for worn teeth etc and lunbricate with grease,the next part to check is where the steel rod comes out of the side ajacent to the motor well,disconnect from motor then extend as far as is possible and lubricate,try moving it a few times if it is still stiff replace it.I found that it was best to take the old steering system to the dealer as you need to know the measurements,mine was 8ft long.
I had mine go whilst i was at sea,rocks to my port,wind farm to my starboard and sand banks all around,i called the RNLI out to tow me in.
One question, as I forward the info to my friend..........where do you get the "teleflex" that was mentioned at 8 or 10 ft. Is it a Mac part or can you get it elsewhere ?
Most marine stores carry them. I can't recall if I replaced with the 8 or 10' but I do recall having to mod the binacle (move the hole slightly to accomodate a slightly larger rack. It was a small PITA as a hole saw doesn't work to move the hole. Rasps and using the middle of the largest twist bit worked. Went from stiff turning to pinky only. Well worth the effort when having to make hard over Port to Starboard turns while also shifting from foward to reverse when in challenging docking/departure maneuvers.
The steering gear and cable are almost a "consumable item" on the "X". I've replace mine twice in the past nine years. I've always had good luck with BWY.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rich Plumb, "Plumb Crazy"
26X, Covington WA
I found everything else in the system okay. When I went to get a Teleflex I was told they were out of stock, back-ordered, didn't know when they would be in. I also read about the difficulties with the pedestal. Teleflex was also about $60 more than a replacement Detmar cable. I ordered a 9 1/2 Detmar cable from a place in WI. It arrived in two days. I decided before I put it in, I would figure out a way to lube the inner cable, not just the end barrels. I tried several rigs, including gravity devices, vacuum devices to suck the lube thru the cable and soforth. I ended up building a contraption that allowed me to put air pressure on one end of the cable and blow lube into and thru the cable. I used 90W gear lube and forced it thru the cable with 120lb of air pressure. I now expect it to be a bi-annual task.
This all took about two weeks of experimenting and piddling. Unfortunately, about the time I figured out what I wanted to do, our little dog got killed on the road in front of the house. That really shook me up and so I was in a daze and did not document how I made my contraption.
Ken On edit: I just reread my post and realized I didn't give you any useful information to help with your problem. Looking at the photo of the inner core, I believe that the quick fix would be to try to unscrew the ends. I was originally afraid to try this because I feared doing damage to the inner cable by twisting it. The photo, however, shows the inner core wrap would actually tighten on the inner strands when the ends were unscrewed. That should minimize any internal damage. Remove the cable from the boat. Stabilize it so it won't kink and coil up as you twist. Look for a dimple and if there is one, drill it out first. If an end will come off, the inner cable can be removed, cleaned, re-lubed, and reinstalled easily.
Thanks a lot for all the information and links. I figured there was someone on this site that might be doing the exact same thing right now, and that be you ! I have never replaced by steering cable, and I use my 2003 X a lot during the summer, but here summers are short. I intend to help my friend replace his cable and I will get one myself to have on hand. If mine gets any stiffer (after 6 years) I will replace before it breaks and gets me into trouble (like others have described)
one tip if you find that you need to enlarge the hole,buy a cheap holesaw kit,use the holesaw that matches the original hole in diameter as a center drill then screw on the holesaw that you need for opening up the hole,i openned up a 1 inch hole to a 3 inch hole using this method,its a lot easier than fileing
Another fiberglass drilling tip, is to start in reverse and score the gel coat. This will minimize chipping. I find this to be more effective than taping.
I'm the new owner of a 2001 26X ... my steering was stiff and I lubed both ends as described in multiple threads on this forum ... R&P gears looked OK and there was some corrosion on the stern end which I removed and then lubed ... this didn't really help much so I assume the inside of the cable is toast ... I have a Raymarine Sport Pilot that the PO disconnected now I know why.
My local marine supply store carries all the Teleflex systems ... my question is which model best fits the 2001 26X ... some posts indicate 8' but others 10' lengths - which is it or does it matter? ... the catalog I have seems to indicate that the big seller is the SAFE-T-Q (SS132), but it promotes the newer SAFE-T II NFB (SS137)(min length is 10') ... assume the idea is to stay away from the R&P one NFB Rack steering (SS151).Would reall appreciate hearing back from as many of you as possible as I'd like to get the order in pronto!
I'm all set to replace my existing Detmar R&B and am trying to decide between the Teleflex SS141 Rack or the Uflex Racktech.
I have read on multiple threads that the replacement Teleflex R&P is longer than the original Detmar one and is a tight fit and the new hole for the steering wheel is both bigger and lower in order to accommodate the length of the Teleflex.
Does anyone know if the length of the Uflex R&P box is shorter and therefore easier to install in the pedestal/binnacle
I'd really appreciate hearing back ASAP so I can place an order
Kilblaan wrote:I'm all set to replace my existing Detmar R&B and am trying to decide between the Teleflex SS141 Rack or the Uflex Racktech.
I considered all those options (problems) and after a little searching found a replacement Detmar cable (9.5ft) for about $60 less than changing systems. I got the new cable, it went right in, and is so smooth now that it seems like the woodruff key is missing in the steering wheel. I have to look to see that things are really turning. I may end up increasing the preload if I don't get used to the effortless turning I now have.
I have been meaning to put up a response on the forum … I installed a Uflex Racktech 10’ – could have used an 8’ one but the 10 allows for wider turn radius of the cable which is always better … install went very smoothly though there were a few small challenges enroute … the steering now is incredible, smooth and easy- night’n’day difference …. we are actually launching the boat today – 1st time for us … I went with the Uflex as it had a brass nut on the stern end … I expect the Teleflex SS141 is very similar … from what I can tell from the forum both products have a slightly longer rack … to remove the existing system I cut the steering cable in the binnacle and the pulled it out through the hole in the stern ... the hole in the binnacle had to be enlarged to 3 ¼” – invest in a proper circular saw blade that can cut all the way through … as the rack is longer the helm has to be dropped slightly so the guide bit on the circular saw blade was just below the previous hole and the blade lined up on the top edge of the old hole – sure hurt to at first to drill that huge hole! … bolt the rack to the helm before cutting the three holes for the support – this allows you to find the final resting place for the rack and any slight rotation required of the whole assembly beyond what is allowed if you followed the template for the hole resting position … I flipped the mounting bracket over and put the two holes at the top as the 3 ¼ hole at the bottom was at the edge of the thicker part of the binnacle which allowed me to put the single hole in the area outside of the thicker section – if I had put the two holes at the bottom they would have been half on and off the thick part … take out the old rubber bulkhead fitting between the back berth and the stern as it’s difficult to insert the new steering cable especially the brass nut through – use some WD-40 inside the rubber fitting to help the nut slide through … sounds complicated but it’s not that hard … only challenge remaining is to find an ‘adaptor collar’ which I need for the autopilot as the new helm is ¾” vs the old one which was 1” … if you have specific questions at any stage feel free to contact me.
PS A word of wisdom ... I bolted the R&P together without checking that the steering direction was correct ... Uflex installation instructions said nothing about this ... well we launched our last week at the local marina in a bit of a blow only to find the steering was reversed ... it was exciting and tested our mettle ... yesterday I took things apart and rotated the helm and attached the rack on the other side
... some posts indicate 8' but others 10' lengths - which is it or does it matter? ... the catalog I have seems to indicate that the big seller is the SAFE-T-Q (SS132), but it promotes the newer SAFE-T II NFB (SS137)(min length is 10') ... assume the idea is to stay away from the R&P one NFB Rack steering (SS151).Would reall appreciate hearing back from as many of you as possible as I'd like to get the order in pronto!
... yesterday I took things apart and rotated the helm and attached the rack on the other side 
