Pivot tube repair

 

G'day all,

The steering on my boat has become increasingly stiff. Thought it was the cable so serviced that only to realise it's some corrosion in the pivot tube that's causing the issue.  Can't seem to find a marine mechanic who is interested in fixing this for some reason, so it's gonna be a DIY. 

Anyone on here ever attempted this and have any pointers or traps for a novice I should be aware of?  From what I can find so far on the trusty google looks like a complete strip down, leg off, power head off and then onto cleaning up the pivot tube. 

Appreciate any advice, even if the sage advice is "don't f******g do it" 

 

Motor is a 75hp Merc 2 banger 

 

cheers 


Posts: 108

Date Joined: 14/05/13

Bloody hard

Fri, 2022-03-18 15:25

 Can only say what i did with my Honda. Are you sure it's corrosion?

The proper repair is powerhead off and full strip but my Honda 50 was old crusty grease and the new grease wasn't getting thru the whole shaft just pumping stright thru the top of the swivel and not working down the whole tube.

Not much help online but removed grease nipples and made adaptor so i could force petrol in under pressure and that washed out the shitty grease. Was a long and time consuming process over 3 weekends - pumping and allowing the petrol to dissolve the crappy grease but eventually the outboard turned well and then spent a good 6 hours pumping grease and ensuring it filled all the voids and got rid of the petrol residue.

Cannot be sure this is your issue as i had no signs of corrosion just very tight.

Good luck!!

Posts: 439

Date Joined: 06/02/14

Silicone

Fri, 2022-03-18 15:27

 I just shot lots of yama lube silicone spray down there and it rehydrated the grease and it came better than new.

scubafish's picture

Posts: 947

Date Joined: 15/08/12

Same same

Fri, 2022-03-18 17:39

75 Johnson ,pivot tube kill rust the shit out of it. I use a rag on a piece of wire to run in and out over a few days .Then tried to seal the ends up so water doesn't get in PVC caps and sika.
But that's only if its not snapped already, if it has ref to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwh65xem33k&ab_channel=DangarMarine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6ChE6ZmZfM&ab_channel=DangarMarine

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http://img.gg/BQ91Sys

Bradmac73's picture

Posts: 173

Date Joined: 22/03/17

Thanks

Mon, 2022-03-21 09:17

 

Appreciate the advice all!  

lextt's picture

Posts: 26

Date Joined: 08/03/12

ive change pivot tube on my

Tue, 2022-03-22 09:33

ive change pivot tube on my merc 60hp 4 stroke about 2 years ago.

not easy to do but if you know your way around tools, shouldnt have too many problems for diy.

have a look at this link, its for my motor but you shoud be able to find every thing you need for your outboard with serial number.

https://www.perfprotech.com/mercury-marine-parts-catalog/model/01/4980/60%20EFI%20%284%20CYL.%29%284-STROKE%29/1c000001-thru-1c050251

you will need blowtorch as most of the bolts will have salt and rust on them.
 
you will also need engine crane to remove power head. (i have one if you need it.)
 
from memory it was over $1500 in parts. 
 
if you need any more help, you can pm me.
 
good luck.
 

Posts: 24

Date Joined: 21/03/19

 My understanding is that

Wed, 2022-03-23 14:32

 My understanding is that inly oil should be pumped into any grease nipple on the tube as I brkieve the grease will go hard.  Uaing oil I found the steering never gave trouble