Baller swc5150 Posted July 6, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 6, 2015 The steering on my '06 196 was kind of sloppy and would "catch" once in a while. I followed @6balls advice and found the loose Allen screw on the steering column. Now since I've tightened my steering wheel down, all slop is gone, but steering is pretty tight now. It loosens up when I back off the steering wheel nut, so am I over tightening the wheel on the shaft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller igkya Posted July 6, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 6, 2015 I have a similar problem. Took steering off along with several other components. There were two allen screw that were loose. Everything else seemed ok. Put it all back together and tightened the allen screws. Still had slop in the wheel and was still a bit hard to turn. Took at look at rudder stuffing box and connection of shaft to rudder, which had some hard residue on it. Cleaned and greased shaft. Greased stuffing box and went for test drive. Steering much easier now but still has too much slop for our liking. Also adjusted the trim tab on rudder and went from neutral to all the way to the right... made no difference. Our guess now is that the coupler (for lack of the proper term) that connects the tilt wheel spindle to the rack n pinion shaft is worn and needs replaced or possible shimmed. Any other suggestions or guesses? @Jody_Seal Didn't mean to hi-jack thread, but I'm hearing/reading more of these similar issues and looks like several of use could use some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Waternut Posted July 6, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 6, 2015 I found on our 2000 SN, over tightening the allen screws in the tilt mechanism can make the steering stiff. I don't remember if over tightening the main steering wheel nut made a difference or not though. I didn't play with it long enough to truly understand what was going on but it seems like all those bolts and screws have a happy place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ozski Posted July 6, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 6, 2015 Will be interesting to see what people say about this, I have some free play in the steering on our 196 as well but it seems to be at the wheel rather than the cable. My first step will be to replace the cable because it is 10 years old - and then look at what else needs fixing or replacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller 6balls Posted July 6, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 6, 2015 @sw5150 my guess is your cable. I had a new cable and rudder packing done and my steering was seriously fingertip like operating in butter. This was for years. The catching issue then developed and as you know we snugged the screws. I now have slightly more steering effort, no on-center play...really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted July 6, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted July 6, 2015 The odd thing about it, that kind of makes me to believe it's not the cable, is if I back off the steering wheel nut a turn, I can turn the wheel with a finger. They're such a pain in the @ss to replace, that I want to rule out this nut thing first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ Jody_Seal Posted July 6, 2015 Baller_ Share Posted July 6, 2015 One very common issue with the Teleflex rack steering system and one that can mask making owners thing their cable is shot is the rubber boot that covers the tilt assembly can ride up out of it's grove and start rubbing against the under side of the steering wheel hub. once the boot is re-worked over the tilt assembly and back in it's groove the wheel will feel more free. Another item to look at is make sure the rudder port packing nut is tight against the locking nut and not turning with the tiller arm. when this happens turning one way seems good but binds when turning the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted July 6, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted July 6, 2015 I did notice that about the rubber boot. Jody, how tight is the steering wheel nut supposed to be? Cranked as far as it'll go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller igkya Posted July 6, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 6, 2015 @Jody_Seal I understand how the rubber boot could cause the steering to be tight/stiff, but what can be done about the slop in the steering wheel? After we took off the wheel, we eliminated the cable as the primary issue as the the base helm assembly was tight and had no slop. We believe the issue is in the tilt wheel assembly, even after we tightened the allen screws. Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Andy Posted July 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 7, 2015 I have a slight clicking noise turning right and left and a slight amount of play in the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted July 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 7, 2015 @andy that would indicate to me that the tilt unit is loose or bad. Pull the steering wheel off and check the 2 Allen bolts on the ujoint first. Then see if the outer shaft moves inside the bearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted July 7, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted July 7, 2015 Anyone know how tight the steering wheel nut should be cranked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Andy Posted July 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 7, 2015 Thx. I appreciate your insight. I mentioned it when I was at the local dealer, and they said it was common and not to worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted July 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 7, 2015 German torque spec on the wheel. Guten tight - basically hold wheel with one hand tighten with other and you are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted July 7, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted July 7, 2015 That's what I was guessing. I can get the wheel nice and tight, where it still rotates with one finger, but I can also tighten it even further, making the wheel stiff to rotate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted July 10, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 10, 2015 Tightening the wheel on the shaft shouldn't be changing how hard it id to turn. Must be contacting the rubber boot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted July 10, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted July 10, 2015 That was my first thought as well, but the boot is reconnected how it should be, and not touching the wheel, that I can tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller igkya Posted July 10, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 10, 2015 @swc5150 Check the cable where it connects to the rudder. Will need to turn the wheel all the way to one side to ensure you have most of the cable exposed. Ours had a calcification on it. We used a scotch brite pad to clean it up, added some grease and the wheel turns much, much easier now. Still has some slop, but not nearly as bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted July 10, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted July 10, 2015 Thanks @igkya I'm going to check that out too. The weird thing is, if I just back off the wheel nut a little, the steering turns back into butter. That's why I was sure it was the boot at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted July 12, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted July 12, 2015 Fixed. The wheel was rubbing against the boot, due to missing a washer n the shaft side of the wheel. It's butter again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted July 12, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted July 12, 2015 Still fixed, but discovered there is no washer behind the wheel. The rubber boot just needed, more coaxing. I'm not sure where the mystery washer came from? It's not the one behind the lock nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted July 12, 2015 Baller Share Posted July 12, 2015 Don't recall any washers on either Malibu I've replaced the tilts on other than the one that goes on under the steering wheel nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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