panther connecting rod

I recently installed a kicker on my boat and im connecting main and kicker together and was wondering how a guy goes about bending the rod without damaging it, instructions tell u to bend it if needed and I will need to do so. Thx any help is much appreciated.

07 LC
I have that same hook up. I was able to locate the mounts on the outboards in a way that my bends were very slight or minimal. I used my small torch to heat the area, and used a pipe slipped over the connecting rod, (other end in the bench vise) to slowly give the bend I wanted. Has worked for years….one warning, please remember to disconnect from the big motor before you tilt either up, as I have snapped the connecting bracket clean off (then I had to find a welder:()

Not sure what your trying to connect for motors, but I used one to connect my Merc 150hp 4 stroke to my 9.9 pro kicker last fall. If I remember right there were two flat brackets that came with it (if not then I bought two flat brackets from Home Depot), and I bolted one end of each bracket to the steering bracket on the front of the 150 and lined up the holes on the other ends of the brackets and fastened them together with one of the ball joints. The ball joint ended up centered with the 150.

For the Kicker I went to Home Depot and bought a L bracket and a U-bolt. I put a piece of heat shrink tube over the U-bolt (just to help protect the paint on the kicker) and attached the L bracket to the center of the bracket on the front of the 9.9, and fastened the other ball joint to the L bracket.

I ended up with the ball joints lining up really good. I didn’t have to cut or bend the rod.

When I tested the steering in the garage the motors turned fine with the 150 down or up most of the way, and the kicker down at least far enough for the centering straps on the kicker to be loose enough to allow the kicker to turn.

When on the water I take the rod off when I pull the kicker out of the water because I tilt it all the way up and lock it up.

So far it’s worked out great!!! Only complaint is the little rubber o-rings that are inside the sockets (between the inside of the socket and the top of the ball joints) fall out (which was pretty much the only complaints I seen on the reviews for it). You might want to get some spares from the hardware store. I have had them fall out and the rod still worked fine.

Good luck!!

Normally I find many experts to bend it more than required. I also tried to do so but hardly twice I succeeded after spending a hell lot of time. It is always a better idea for me to go with some professional one to save time and get it done perfectly.