Steering cable for 2014 Carbon Pro

[oldmanskier]

My Boat: 2014 Centurian Carbon Pro 5.7 PCM Excalibur engine.

Steering cable has got very stiff, and it does not turn to the left as far as it did.

Appears I need a new steering cable for my boat.

Anyone replaced a steering cable on a 2014 Carbon Pro before?

If so where did you purchase your cable or do you any tips on doing the replacement?

I am thinking one place to buy a new cable is SKIDIM.

Any information will be apprecieated.

Thanks

Tom Smothers (oldmanskier)

 

[RAWSki]

Havent had to replace ours yet ...

should be pretty easy

 @RichardDoane ?  

[wski1831]

I think someone on this site maybe Jody seal had a good suggestion they said to cut the old cable by the helm and pull it out the back. Worked great for me. 

[LeonL]

I'd recommend trying SKIDIM

[Golfguy]

I replaced my 2016. It was way easier than I expected. Check out Youtube for instructions. All I recall for certain is that it was easier and fasted than I thought. Big improvement in handling.

 

Good luck.

[BGrow76]

@Golfguy at how many hours did you replace yours? Where did you buy it?

[Golfguy]

I bought it from SKIDIM. The boat had a little north of 500 hrs. Used on a private lake in AZ with turn islands, so some no stop spinning. I thought it was a bit early to need replacement. 

[RichardDoane]

AZ heat will shorten the life of a cable   not a big deal to change, just takes elbow grease

 

our 2015 with 1280 hours still steers nicely with the original cable - it's the cool temps of the PNW vs.  the horrible heat of AZ that ruined yours @oldmanskier

[oldmanskier]

Just an FYI. I had to take my driver's seat out to look under dash a steering cable part number. 69-year-old man not very flexible trying to look under front of boat. The original steering cable part number for my 2014 Centurian Carbon Pro is Teleflex Part# SSC15420. The last two digits 20 indicated the length. I have one ordered from SKIDIM. Not a cheap purchase, $315 including shipping.

Now to figure out exactly how to install it. WKSKI1831 detailed the tip "I think someone on this site maybe Jody seal had a good suggestion they said to cut the old cable by the helm and pull it out the back." sounds interesting.

WKSKI1831 did you attach the new cable to the old cable so when you pull the old cable out it will pull the new cable thru to the back?

Thanks for all the information.

Tom Smothers (oldmanskier)

[03RLXi]

There's lots of youtube videos  for direct drive cable installs. Not same brand but lots of techniques and comments here https://www.themalibucrew.com/index.php?/forums/topic/32407-steering-cable-replacement/&

[chrislandy]

When my cable snapped while on holiday I pulled it out with a rope attached to feed back the new one after.

 

Just took it down to a local marine chandlers and asked for a new one, they are all boggo standard steering cables, just have to make sure you get the right length and ends.

 

It took about 1/2hr to feed through and refit and we were back on the water by the evening.

[Bdecker]

@oldmanskier I did it on my 2016 a few years back.  Just attach a rope to the old cable before you pull it out and it will be easy.  Great idea removing the seat.  Contorting to get in there was definitely the hardest part!

[shoeskiman]

On 6/15/2023 at 6:50 PM, oldmanskier said:

Just an FYI. I had to take my driver's seat out to look under dash a steering cable part number. 69-year-old man not very flexible trying to look under front of boat. The original steering cable part number for my 2014 Centurian Carbon Pro is Teleflex Part# SSC15420. The last two digits 20 indicated the length. I have one ordered from SKIDIM. Not a cheap purchase, $315 including shipping.

Now to figure out exactly how to install it. WKSKI1831 detailed the tip "I think someone on this site maybe Jody seal had a good suggestion they said to cut the old cable by the helm and pull it out the back." sounds interesting.

WKSKI1831 did you attach the new cable to the old cable so when you pull the old cable out it will pull the new cable thru to the back?

Thanks for all the information.

Tom Smothers (oldmanskier)

oldmanskier: I just removed the drivers seat and disconnected my rack from the pinion gear. I found your number the exact one we need for our boat 2014 5.7L with 1087 hours. We're now in FL for the last 7 years and had been in WI with the layups for the winters. Our steering has gotten very stiff this month. I get the new cable tomorrow.

I have done 3-4 cables so far and this one looks easier...but it's not in yet. Before reading about removing the seat I got stuck a couple times. (We're the same age!) I ordered it from Marine Parts Source in TN. Great service!

[oldmanskier]

Somewhere there is a thread about Jody Seal cutting the cable loose from the front of the boat, attaching new cable to old cable and pulls it out thru to the back of boat. I have been looking for that information but unable to find. If anyone knows the post Jody's cable method is detailed, please let me know.

After much thought Jody's method appears to me the easier way to get the new cable threaded thru. 

Taking driver's seat out is a must for me to get under front of boat.

Being my boat is at the lake under carport I may attempt the cable install next week when cooler weather and lower humidity is forecast. Chattanooga is very hot and humid this week.

Shoeskiman good luck with your install.

Tom Smothers (oldmanskier) 

[LeonL]

@Jody_Seal said that he used a bolt cutter to cut the rack off the end of the cable.   I just tie a rope to the back end and pull it out from the front.  Tie the rope to the new one and pull to the back.  Either way it's easier if you have someone on each end to jiggle.

[oldmanskier]

LeonL, Thanks for the information.

Tom Smothers (oldmanskier)

[shoeskiman]

I finally finished our cable in Sunday.

Another few tips, I had to take two carpeted panels out and remove the bilge hose out of the hole in the floor.  I also ended up cutting the old cable at the rudder end to make feeding a fish tape thru for the new cable.

 

It is shared with wire harnesses and the balance tank hoses. After pulling the bilge hose back out of the hole in the floor and the nut fit thru easier. (I found that there were lots of mud dauber nests in the bow.) Lots of cleaning up afterward. Very satisfying having two finger steering again!

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[oldmanskier]

shoeskiman, If I understand correctly, you attached the fish tape to the old cable at rudder end and pulled old cable and fish tape thru to bow of boat. You then attached new cable to fish tape at bow end and using fish tape you pulled new cable back thru to rudder end of boat. Do I have the correct understanding of your process?

Never thought of using a fish tape. Good idea.

Thanks for any clarification you can give on your steering cable install.

Tom Smothers (oldmanskier)

[wski1831]

I used a cordless grinder to cut the cable away from the helm, tied a rope to it and pulled it out the back. I have done them from the front, and out the back was easier.

I think I installed the new one from the front to back. 

Sorry this took a while to respond, I just saw it.

[oldmanskier]

I have completed installing my new steering cable. I lake tested today, and it is really good. I did not realize just how stiff my old cable had gotten. Two fingers steering now. It took me three half days to complete. 
I have detailed below the process I used. I used the method of pulling new cable from front of boat to rudder end of boat. Because I had no help, am shaped like a Rubics cube and not very flexible, I think this is the only way I could do it by myself. See details below. Thanks for everyone's postings on this subject.

Tom Smothers (oldmanskier)

These instructions are for a 2014 Centurion Carbon Pro with 5.7 PCM Excalibur engine.

This method snakes the new steering cable under the floor from bow end of boat to rudder end of boat.

 1: Remove Engine cover.

2: Remove rear backrest cushion.

3: Remove rear floor panel to access rudder.

5: Remove observer bench seat.

6: Remove driver side plastic foot rest.

7: Remove driver side front kick panel.  This allows you to see up under bow of boat.

8: Remove driver side-side kick panel. It is the panel left of driver left foot. Consists of a small panel facing     towards engine (remove first) and the driver side-side kick panel (remove second). This was the hardest one to get to screws that held panel in place but by removing this side panel it allows easier access to hole in floor panel at front of boat to snake new cable thru to bilge area. May need to pull plastic vent hoses out of floor panel to get better view of area. These pull out easily and can be pushed back in somewhat easily.

9: Remove floor panel pylon goes thru. You may just have to swivel it to one side. This allows you to get to steering cable easier when snaking thru.

10: Remove old steering cable (rectangular metal box attached at steering wheel) from where it is attached to       steering wheel.

11: Cut old cable from rectangular metal box that was attached to steering wheel. I used a bolt cutter to do this.

12: Attach old cable cut end to new steering cable end that attaches to rutter. I used Gorilla tape to attach cables to each other. Make sure the old and new cable will not come apart while snaking thru to back of boat. I also taped the cut end of the cable tight against the new cable with electrical tape due to cable ends were sharp where I cut the old cable. I also taped the big nut on new cable you use to attach to sleeve at rudder end tight against old cable. This allows it to not hang or dig into any hoses while snaking thru to back of boat.

13: Pull old cable from the rudder end of the boat till the attached ends of the cable is going thru hole in floor panel at front of boat. 

14: Push attached end (where old cable attached to new cable) thru the hole in the floor panel to bilge area under the floor panel. This was the hardest part of installation due to hole thru floor has hoses running thru and made a tight squeeze. I was able to compress the hoses with my fingers and push the attached ends thru to the bilge. Once the long steel shaft and big nut of the new cable (this attaches to rudder) was thru floor, the cable was easily snaked thru by pulling old cable which is attached to new cable to the rudder end of boat. I was lucky in my case that the old cable was not zip tied to anything in the bilge area. Old cable was just lying in the floor of bilge area. New Cable is now snaked all the way from front to the rudder end of boat.

15: Attach new cable rectangular metal box to steering wheel gear.

16: Push new cable at rudder end thru sleeve and tighten big nut on new cable to sleeve.

17: Attach new cable to rudder.

18: Reinstall all panels you removed.

19: Lake test the new steering cable.

20: If all checks out you may need to recenter the steering wheel. I did.

 

[shoeskiman]

This is the same way I did mine except I pulled the hose off the bilge pump to make enough room for the rudder end nut. I used an electrician fish tape and pulled it from the driver's end of the boat. I also had to recenter the steering wheel using an impact wrench to pull the nut off.  It was hard to do as it was 98F when I was doing this on my lift in the FL sun....but a wet 50spf shirt made it much easier. Thanks to all that contributed to this thread.