Ahh very helpfull. So I have very stiff steering - I am trying to remove the cable as the first action and when done I could do the test as you have shown to see if the actuator works, no need for the cable. Does that sound practical ? Removing the cable is proving harder than thought - but easier than trying to remove the actuator pin connection to the stern drive - so hard to access I'll never get it put back together :)
