stiff steering

[stingray]

have very stiff steering,thinking of putting thiner hydraulic fluid,anbody help

[TmMorris]

Has it always been so or just this season? If the latter then something probably just needs greasing or releasing?

[stingray]

same as always

[Iankristy]

You need to determine if it’s the hydraulic steering assembly or the motor that’s stiff. Disconnect motor from hydraulic steering, swing motor by hand, should move pretty easy. If not that’s the half that needs investigated, bushes can seize on the motor. If motor moves freely could be a problem at helm.

[stingray]

tried new hoses, and helm

[stingray]

could wrong fluid make that difference

[paintman]

As already said, disconnect the steering from the engine & see if the engine is nice & easy to push from side to side.
Pointless doing anything else until you've established that.
Engine swivels can seize & sometimes takes a lot of work to free them off. Guess how I know.....

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by stingray

could wrong fluid make that difference

Depends what you have in it , thinner the better i reckon ,within reason ,maybe even the manufacturers recomendation !!

[GARYSHORT]

Lube it with grease on the lube ports. There are 2-4 on the motor: tilt has 1-2, turn has 1-2.. Marine (blue) grease is best)