Suitable helm replacement??

gofish

gofish

Junior Member
Hello All
Just found this great forum and was hoping someone would have the answer to my question:
I have a 1985 V-20 Steplift w/ mid-90's 150 Yamaha. The steering went out on me Sat., 8 miles out in the gulf. I've determined that it is the gears in the helm that are broken. At first I still had port steering, only the starboard steering was out. Somewhere between the slow trip home the port steering went out as well.
My question: Is this http://www.outdoorsuperstore.com/product.asp?prod=254135 a suitable replacement for my current setup. I'm almost positive it's the original helm that I have now.
Any advice or links to other products would be greatly appreciated.
I'm not looking to go to hydraulic or upgrade to something that I don't need. I just want my steering back on my beloved (and well-used) v-20.
Thanks
Ragan
 
Welcome to the site!!

You need to look at the end of the cable that goes into the helm and make sure you match it up to be the same.
Some have a pin that you have to pull to lock them in.

You will also need a puller to get the steering wheel off, try spraying it for a day or so first to loosen the rust.

When reassembling use antiszee so it will always come off again with out problems
 
go to ebasicparts.com and get a complete no feedback helm/cable kit. usually if the helm fails, its because teh cable is getting stiff. One usually follows the other, if you can't come up with the money for the nofeedback, go with a rotory set up. try Uflex brand, they are substantially cheaper than teleflex or Morse (same company now). To use the helm you have listed, it will have to be the safe T-Type cable in the boat. Look at the helm you have now and see if it has a large hairpin holding the cable in place
 
you might want to get the cable length and price the NFB helm unit(no feed back). i had the regular unit and wanted to go hydraulic, but the cost was too much. somebody on here suggested that as an alternative and i love it. fits in the same holes, but steers like hyd. i have also been told that if you change the helm and not the cable, it will cause premature wear in one or the other.
what part of the gulf? i'm in north fl
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...L=true&storeNum=6&subdeptNum=222&classNum=693

This is the unit, but i thought i got a kit with the cable for about $175 from a local marine vendor.
 
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Thank you for all of the quick replies.
I'm going to try to remove the helm/wheel tomorrow. I'll take some pics so that I can show exactly what my current setup looks like. I know that it is one cable that goes into the helm and it loops around to come out the bottom.

phatdaddy, I live in Panama City, FL. I mostly dive/spearfish w/ a little bottom fishing on the side.
 
pulling the wheel is a two person deal, loosen the nut holding the wheel to the helm, but don't take it all the way off. Have a helper ready with a suitable punch and a good size hammer, while you are pulling back on the wheel(go ahead and get your legs inot it and pull real hard), have the helper line up the punch on the shaft, and smack it with the hammer. it will usually break the wheel loose of the tapered shaft, there are some that will require heat or a puller, but 9 out of 10 will come off like this. You leave the nut on while doing this so you won't end up in the back seat when it comes loose
 
Thanks for the tip.
I went outside tonight and removed the nut, then tugged on the wheel a few times. I got it to budge about an 1/8", just enough to spray some PB Blaster on both sides and let it sit overnight.
 
Gofish, small internet, i'm also in pc. i live downtown near the city marina, if your intown call boat works on 11 th st and get a price on the helm unit, on the beach, call panama marine on the curve by capt anderson's.
 
phatdaddy said:
Gofish, small internet, i'm also in pc. i live downtown near the city marina, if your intown call boat works on 11 th st and get a price on the helm unit, on the beach, call panama marine on the curve by capt anderson's.
Click to expand...

Cool, I actually live in Lynn Haven, but nobody outside of PC knows where that is. I'll give boat works a call tomorrow after I figure out exactly what type of helm I need.
My (limited) experience w/ panama marine has always been that they are overpriced. (I'm a poor married man w/ 2 kids)
 
You will also want to check the steering tube the engine is mounted on. Remove the bolt that connects the steering cable to the engine tiller, you should be able very easily move the motor back and forth. If not, you'll have to start freeing up that pivot tube. A heat gun a grease goes a long, long way. The heat gun is a must!.
 
Pics

Okay, I went out and took some pics. Can't get the wheel off yet, waiting on a buddy to come over and help.
If anyone can identify the type of steering I have currently, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks
Ragan
 

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looks like a Teleflex rotary, from what the cable looks like, I would definately replace both. Look on the cable near one end or the other for some white writing, it will have the cable part number and a lot of other stuff written on it, its usually within 2 ft of the end, normalyy on the back side of the cabel where you can't read it. All you are interested in is the length, usually given in inches, last number after the part number. If you can't find a good deal on a cable, let me know and I'll see if I can get you a price
 
Thanks for all of the help guys.
I didn't see any numbers or writing on either end, so I'll have to measure once I get it off.
From what I've read the motor has to be removed (or lifted) to get the new cable in. Is that correct? That's pretty much where I draw the line in DIY or having a professional do the job.
 
Well getting the motor to move is not a big deal, all you have to do is slide it over, get a strong friend you be ok.
The hard part is getting the old bolts out, some are pretty corroded in there! Just get a bigger hanmmer, and have some one trying to turn it at the same time.

No shop needed here just pure power!! I used a airhammer to bang mine out.
 
the trick in moving the motor around is raising or lowering the trailer to let the motor rest on the skeg, it will support the weight, just keep it straight up, don't let it go anywhere. I use a stand made from scrap 2X6's(use 2X8's on lower units with tall skegs) that I set lower units on when I'm working on them, that way teh weight is spread out over the bullet area of the lower unit.
 
Both of those suggestions sound like they would work pretty well for moving the motor. I guess I need to remove the helm first and go from there.

Does this system look like a comparable replacement to what I have:
http://www.boatstoreusa.com/product..._Rotech_Rotary_Steering_System&ProductID=1016
Like I said before, not looking to "upgrade", just want it back the way it was. I only have about $2000 in the whole BMT.
If either of you has another site w/ better prices or product, feel free to post some links, I'd appreciate it.
 
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gofish, this is my set up, 84 cuddy, and i have replaced mine without moving the engine. i take out the rod box on the starboard side and pull the slack in the cable to the middle of the boat. then do the same for the helm area. i know its always mo money mo money witha boat, but if you can change both and go NFB. i think the cable length is 17.5 ft. just a guess but you can get some prices with that figure.

that other system looks like a replacement, but i'm pretty sure the system you have is a teleflex helm & cable. i have never used or seen the roflex utech system, but it looks like knock off of teleflex.
 
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