I installed a new rack steering cable and it seems like it did not solve my hard steering problem.

I noticed that the grease in the tilt tube on the motor is literally black and sticky.  I'm beginning to think that this is my problem.

What cleaner is safe for degreasing this junk off and what grease should I lube it with once it's all cleaned up?  Thanks!

when i changed the cables on my boat before i put the new cable in the tilt tube i bought a hone

like the one above and got the inside of the tube nice and shiney. i used a lot of WD-40 to break down the old hardened grease. i did everything i could to make sure i didnt do anything other than shine the inside of the tube and remove the sticky gunk. a ball hone might do a better job, the 3-arm was just what i had at the time. i also installed all new grease zerks after everything was cleaned up.

It is probably not the old lube.  I had perpetual problems until I replaced the tube with a stainless steel one.  No more sticky steering.  In fact I had to tighten the friction clutch thing it got so loose.

I'm going to blast the grease down with break cleaning spray and clean the tube out 1st to see if that'll help.