EZ-Steer bar doesnt always work

[vetting]

I have an EZ-Steer bar on a Mercruiser alpha one with a yahama T9.9 as the kicker.  The kicker is on a fixed bracket and its set back further than the main outdrive.  Over the last 2 years, its been getting stuck in the down position when first lowering the kicker and doesnt seem to always steer correctly - like its skipping the slots.  Any suggestions?  Should I change the angle of the bracket on the kicker?  Should I tighten the set screws?
 

[Sk8man]

I believe the EZ Steer usually has a sticker on it that says it is factory adjusted  (tension) so I'd be cautious about changing that. Sounds as though it may be binding up from the angle from bracket to motor (e.g. perhaps tilted too steep?)

[Houndog]

Get your lower unit and kicker it the position you want them and tighten the screws.The factor tension setting may work for some applications but cant take into account the weight of each kicker.I ran mine with the factory setting and the bar would slide in and out while trolling after that i tightened the screws.Has worked great for 3 years now.

[Hawkeye50]

Try angling the kicker motor attachment towards your main engine.I have also had to tighten set screws on mine.Be careful not to overtighten.

[vetting]

Think I found the problem.  Since its a remote start/shift kicker, there wasn't enough slack in all of the cables going to the kicker from the transom.  As a result, when the motor steers to one side, it was binding on the cables and causing the bar to keep on extending as the main motor pulled on it.  Then it just couldnt recover when it attempted to steer back the other way.  Might have to pop another hole in the back of the transom so that the cables come straight out into the kicker.