Greasing DF 90 main swivel shaft

[eyefish]

I have a low hours Suzuki 2005 DF 90 (bought new) in which the main swivel axis shaft has nearly seized up. (the shaft that allows the motor to swivel left to right)
The steering was getting stiffer & stiffer, and today I unhooked the steering cable to disagnose what was seizing up.
To my amazement, it was the motor, not the steering cable nor the helm.
I have regularly greased all the motor's zerk fittings over the years, & assumed sufficient grease reached the swivel shaft .
But obviously it hasn't.
Today I witnessed as I injected grease into that zerk fitting, that the grease wasn't coming out of the top & bottom of that shaft as you would expect, but instead from beneath the bottom of swivel shaft....where the shift linkage comes out the bottom.
Anyway....I kept injecting grease, & working the motor back & forth, until it loosened up enough, but it is still stiffer than I would like.

Can someone tell me what is going on here?

This boat/motor lives a very pampered existence on a trailer in a climate controlled garage when it is not out fishing; of which I do less & less.

Thanks.

[boats.net]

Replacing those bushings is a major job, might try soaking it with oil on top bushing and apply a small amount of heat(use a heat gun) to free it up.

[eyefish]

Thanks.
I have the 342 page Suzuki Shop manual & looked at the job.
Incredibly complex to get to those bushings.
So I have to try getting these freed up best possible.

[eyefish]

The grease is pumping out of an area that makes no sense.
As I pump in the grease, it is coming out at the very bottom where the circlip is.
If you look at page 2A-22 of the Suzuki shop manual, the grease is coming out underneath part #7, the Lower Mount Bracket, from where the circlip #8 is.
How can that be?
How can the grease be getting past the splines of the shaft #5, & through the Lower Mount Bracket, to the circlip?
I would expect grease to be coming out ABOVE the lower Mount bracket, somewhere around #2, the washer.
I would also expect grease to be coming out of the top of the shaft (#5), near #2 washer on top as well, but there is no grease getting to those 2 locations, which is why my unit got SOOoo stiff to move.

[noelm007]

This is a fairly common thing with all brands, it starts when incorrect grease is/was used, ONLY marine grease is to be used there, not waterproof or bearing grease, I use OMC triple gaurd, I guess there is plenty of other brands, if you use plain old waterproof gease, it will go hard and the steering will get tighter and tighter, untill it seizes up! you will need to either gently heat up the entire area and pump marine grease into it, hoping to force out all the old hard crap (rarely works) but you will probably need to pull it to bits to clean it up, and regrease with good grease, it is not a hard job, but it is a messy, heavy crap job to do.

[noelm007]

OH, and a heat gun will not give you anywhere near enough heat, there is a lot of metal to heat.