reversing drum style teleflex system?

[boatman]

Hi all,

I have an rotary style teleflex system with the 8" diameter helm that I need to reverse. Looks to be an ACCO Steermaster MK III Mercury Ride Guide system from what I can find on the web, obsolete system. Works well. Changed the steering bracket from the back to the front of my ’67 Johnson 100 hp and that reversed the steering. Quite a surprise when I was dodging barges in the shipping channel and turned hard left at full speed, but the boat went hard right almost onto the rocks lining the Cal Sag channel in Chicago! Took my heart rate a long time to get back to normal after that one.

Looks like the drum should slide off the shaft after I remove the three bolts securing it, but the drum will not slide off the shaft. Assume that I can flip the drum over to reverse the steering. Do I need to pull the drum apart and reverse the internal ring gear instead?

I appreciate your help.

Thanks,
Paul

[boatman]

Well, finally figured this one out with help from member Joe Poole, Jr.. Turns out this unit did not have a splined shaft connecting the rotary helm to the steering wheel shaft. That’s why the helm would not just slide off the shaft so I could reverse it. After about 4 hours of prying under the steering wheel while hitting the shaft with a drift and an 8 lb hammer, I got the steering wheel off. The helm was connected via a tension pin through the steering shaft. Drove that out and had the helm reversed in a few minutes. Boat will now go right when I turn right, yippee! Will be able to get it on the Chicago River in the morning for an end of season cruise through the high rises in downtown Chicago. First time my wife and girls have been for a ride in this boat. Should be fun.

Many of you know that Joe Poole owns Ferguson-Poole Marina and stocks many parts for our motors. He is a wealth of knowledge and a gentleman to boot. Called me late on a Saturday evening to see if he could be of help and dug through mountains of old catalogs to find me a diagram of this obsolete steering system. You can find him at fergusonpoolemarine.com.

Thanks for the help, Joe.

Paul

[Author]

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