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Recently did the steering cable on my 2008 SANTE and just thought I'd leave a few notes here. There is a classic thread by NautiqueJeff for steering cable replacement on a 90's version and as far as the nuts and bolts its absolute nails. BUT... on my year/model range there are a few extra problems. I researched quit a bit before doing this but there wasn't a consensus on what needed to be done on my boat. If you are wanting to do this project start with this:
https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...8-ski-nautique
Now... Would I do this again, I don't know but I learned several lessons that can speed up the project and I'll address those here. Keep in mind which boat I'm talking about, yours may be different.
1. Some people said they removed the rear ballast. I did not do this and didn't see any way it would help.
2. Step 2 in the above referenced thread is to loosen the nut from the sleeve so you can slide it through. I could not get to this with a wrench. I had 2 ballast hoses and a water pump line that had to be removed to proceed before I could to this.
3. Holy crap. The zip ties. They put zip ties in so many places it should be a felony to stick that there. You will have to take the floor plate out to cut zip ties. I was utilizing my 11 year old skinny son to reach under the helm and between the gas tank and floor and there was no way to get all the zip ties out. It kept snagging when we tried to pull it out with the cord. One guy in a thread removed the gas tank to get to the zip ties, but screw that. If there is one recommendation I read on here it is to CUT THE CABLE. Just do it and it will slide right out. Once you cut it don't forget to attach your cord to it for pulling the new one back through. The other guy used bolt cutters. I had the 11 year old hold it (outside the boat) with vice grips and cut through it with an angle grinder wheel in less than 30 seconds.
4. I also replaced the helm pinion on recommendation from bturner in this thread: https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...ing-help-cable. This was a PITA and you have to take the dash off but that's a different story for a different day.
5. Between the cable and the helm pinion this took me about 8 hours. If I had to do it again I could probably do it in 4.
I'm glad I did it and the steering cable is much smoother especially when turning at higher speeds. But I hope to never do it again.
https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...8-ski-nautique
Now... Would I do this again, I don't know but I learned several lessons that can speed up the project and I'll address those here. Keep in mind which boat I'm talking about, yours may be different.
1. Some people said they removed the rear ballast. I did not do this and didn't see any way it would help.
2. Step 2 in the above referenced thread is to loosen the nut from the sleeve so you can slide it through. I could not get to this with a wrench. I had 2 ballast hoses and a water pump line that had to be removed to proceed before I could to this.
3. Holy crap. The zip ties. They put zip ties in so many places it should be a felony to stick that there. You will have to take the floor plate out to cut zip ties. I was utilizing my 11 year old skinny son to reach under the helm and between the gas tank and floor and there was no way to get all the zip ties out. It kept snagging when we tried to pull it out with the cord. One guy in a thread removed the gas tank to get to the zip ties, but screw that. If there is one recommendation I read on here it is to CUT THE CABLE. Just do it and it will slide right out. Once you cut it don't forget to attach your cord to it for pulling the new one back through. The other guy used bolt cutters. I had the 11 year old hold it (outside the boat) with vice grips and cut through it with an angle grinder wheel in less than 30 seconds.
4. I also replaced the helm pinion on recommendation from bturner in this thread: https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...ing-help-cable. This was a PITA and you have to take the dash off but that's a different story for a different day.
5. Between the cable and the helm pinion this took me about 8 hours. If I had to do it again I could probably do it in 4.
I'm glad I did it and the steering cable is much smoother especially when turning at higher speeds. But I hope to never do it again.