So wondering if one of two things there's a nylon lock nut behind that bolt and held in place by the plastic steering arm. If that bolt was over-tightened it could strip the plastic that holds it in place OR the nut is missing from the back side. I'm still going through the process of replacing my cable, but I'd say the following might help. A new o-ring for the through hull part is a good idea. Before you pull the cable from the hull note how far the cable is sticking out from the cable lock nut (pump side), or how much of the metal part is exposed inside the hull where it goes through the hull. I thought the o-ring would hit some sort of stop inside the through hull tube, but it doesn't. I had my cable pushed in too far and even with that black adjustment knob back by the steering all the way out it wasn't enough to have the alignment right. On the pump side you have the o-ring in the cable groove, then I put the half rings into the cable lock nut, and slid it on, then tightened. After that you slide on the large boot, then the small boot, then you can attach the nut for the ball joint and the ball joint. You should count the number of turns to remove the ball joint, but I think 6-7 rotations is what you need to be within the spec in the manual. Good luck!