Steering is tight and noisy all ofa sudden. Help

[ssaamm]

I have on 03 crestliner fishawk with a90hp Yamaha 4 stroke. Today the steering was tight and stiff. Never been like this before. Usually, I have to hold the wheel while driving so it doesn't pull to the right. I put it on the lift and checked things out. As I turned it from all the way left to right it makes a noisy metallic, rattling sound as I bring it back to dead center. Any thoughts. Need lube? Need tightening of something? Impending doom? Thanks for any help.

[boatfixer]

Where is the noise coming from? Under console? By motor?

Generally the rule of thumb is to replace the cable (at a minimum) when you have steering issues like grinding or a lot of tightness. You can remove the drag link that connects the cable to the engine to isolate the problem.

Also, you can remove the cable from the helm and depending on whether it's a rack or a rotary system, inspect the parts in both components.

[ssaamm]

I disconnected the motor from the steering system today. The motor swings side to side easily , but the noise persists in the area where that thin round pole slides back and forth to steer the motor. By my language you can tell I don't know a lot about the technical aspects. Bear with me. Thanks

[boatfixer]

Turn the wheel all the way to the right so the cable end is extended and clean it with something like WD-40 and wipe it dry. Then put a light coat of a marine grease on the cable end and turn the wheel back and forth a few times. It's not uncommon to get some crud built up in the tube and cable end and this may work. Sometimes it neccesary to remove the cable completely and clean the inside of the tube with a bristle brush. A 12 guage bore brush works pretty good. If after all this the problem still exist then it's Likely the cable needs replacing