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I have a 2006 Sport 130 with a Mercury 40hp that had real stiff steering. I have owned the boat for a little over a year now. I am the 2nd owner, the first took meticulous care of the everything, or so I thought.
This is really my first go round with engine repair, other than routine maintenance. I first took it to a mechanic who was going to disassemble and try to get it working trouble shot the issue to the pivot tube, which after doing research seems common for these motors.
I noticed a ton of marine grease right where the steering arm was attached to the bracket. I had it at a mechanic that tried applying some heat to it, but it didn't really help. So after much internet research, I thought I would give this a try myself. I tapped a new hole I drilled in the top of the pivot tube for a new zerk fitting. I drilled out a zerk fitting and attached a 2 foot 1/4" tube and fit it in the top hole. I filled the tube with penetrating oil and let it soak. I found that instead of soaking downwards to the removed fitting hole on the side, the oil was coming out from the top of the pivot tube. After soaking for a couple of days, I hit it with a propane torch.
The brownish old oil was pushed out of the top hope like a snake! I blew in some air through both holes and then reapplied the penetrating oil. A couple of days later I hit it again with the torch and got a similar result, then I ran out of propane! I worked the motor left and right during the entire process and it is unbelievable how much easier the motor turns now. I did another round of penetrating oil which was finally leaking from the bottom hole. I reinserted the zerk to let the penetrating oil soak it and will hit it a final time with heat.
I am super pleased with the results. The mechanic quoted me a small fortune (almost the cost of a new motor) to disassemble the pivot tube (requires removal of the power head, etc) and had recommended trying this on my own. Kudos to him for looking out for my best interests. Other than this steering issue, everything else on the motor is fantastic.
My only question is how often should I grease the tube? Go back to the regular maintenance schedule? Or more frequently, cleaning out what I can of the old grease first?
