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When the steering froze on my Montauk I was hesitant to apply heat as well.

My mechanical savy (can do a complete engine rebuild) nephew showed me. He ran the torch over the forward face of the tube so it all got warmed up and got HOT. After 15 minutes of heating I took a really forceful smack with a 5 lb sledge and got just the slightest movement. I re-soaked the tube with PB Blaster and he re-heated the tube. Another major whack. More budging. Kept whacking and heating and she came unstuck.

When the end was in the tube, I used a metal rod 3/4 of an inch in diameter x 6 " (from a hardware store) to reach the cable.

After cleaning the cable and the tube, reinstalled with new grease and a steersman nut. Never had another problem and the steering was smooth on the first turn each spring.