Stiff Steering Repair

If the cable won't come out of the helm, the outer "spring" that's around the cable is broken. The heavy spring is what the gear in the helm grabs onto, and when you're trying to turn to the right, or push it out it is bunching up on itself and getting stuck. You need to take the helm apart. You will probably find a big hair ball of broken cable fibers in the grease. So that will need to be cleaned out. Your white cable is the original. You will also need a new support tube because where the cable attaches, the treads are not in the right place. (inside the tube/outside the tube) and the new cable is made different at the end where it attaches to the rudder arm so you also need a clevis kit.

No maybe if it's a big t. Try pulling the cable gently while turning the wheel. If it jams up then something is either boogered on the cable or the helm. Take the plastic jacket off the other feed through while the cable is fully insterted in the helm and inspect the spiral for damage.

I'm not entirely following you on the rudder end. I can't remember if I've converted a cable that old to the new style but I didn't think it required more than the clevis kit. Maybe a clamp tube if you can't get the old one off the old cable. Clamp block should have been reusable. The nut that the clamp tube attaches to is part of the new cable assembly.

If this is a teleflex big t rotary helm, as would have been standard late 60's forward, there should be nothing preventing the cable from being removed from the helm, there is not built in stop- just the cable reaching the end of its throw.

You may need a new clamp tube at the rudder end. They are readily available and inexpensive.

Welcome Ron. When you get a chance post some pictures of your Cuda. When you replace your cable the whole cable assembly comes out jacket and all. Go to the helm end and you'll see where the cable attaches,it's what looks like a nut,it's part of the cable. You unscrew that and just pull the whole cable,jacket and all,out of the helm. Then at the back of the boat you'll see the support pipe that connects to the stringer. At the front of that you will see a nut. You might have to hold that pipe with a pipe wrench but all you do is loosen the nut and after disconnecting the cable from the rudder pull the whole cable out of the support tube. Tie a rope on to the old cable,I pulled mine out the back, which will help you pull in the new one. Sometimes there are cable tie's holding the cable along side the stringer which will have to be removed too. Took me about a half hour to remove and install a cable in my Mustang by myself. My 95 took a good chunk of a day since the floor and interior had to come out,which I had never done before. I always change the seal on the transom end of the support tube too,after all those years it will be hard and not do it's job. I'll look up the part number tommorow. While not the same at the helm end this thread will help. link
Here is the seal ,not everyone has it,but this place can get it. It has the part number listed too.Link for seal