Re: OMC Shift Adjustment - Stuart's Article
BG, <br /><br />Yeah, I'd like to see the verbatim instructions again myself. I'm still out of town- unless anyone knows where I live, in which case not only am I at home, I'm probably cleaning my shotgun in case anyone might be contemplating burglarizing my house
. <br /><br />I'm sensing that an important part of getting the shift adjustment correct on a cobra has to do with the instructions about pushing in or pulling out the cable at various points to remove play in it. I suspect that's what pushing the cable guide in after you've set the cable length but before you do the final tighten on the retainer bolt has to do with. <br /><br />If the 7-9/16" increases the exact amount you push the shift cable guide in, does it go back to 7-9/16" when you return the bell crank to the 90 deg position? If so, I think you should be in good shape because you'll be starting the 5 point adjustment procedure after you return the bell crank back to the 90 deg. position so it lines up with the shift rod (in neutral) when you put the outdrive back on.<br /><br />One of my problems was that I'd get the 7-9/16" measurement right as per instructions, had the shiftrod at the correct height, but found that after I put the drive back on the 7-9/16" had increased by like 3/16". Doesn't look like I have a bent bell crank, so I thought maybe it had something to do with the cable JACKET moving inside the rubber conduit when I put the drive back on, which in turn put the cable length out of specification. <br /><br />Things are coming back to me now. As I think about it some more, that's probably the point I came up with the idea of 'holding' the 7-9/16" length by inserting the barrel trunion in it's slot, attaching the hole at the end of the black plastic on the transom shift cable (what's it called?) to the pin on the shift lever, and clamping the shift lever in place (the shift lever still isn't connected to anything else at this point). This held the length at 9-7/16" at first, but it would still increase at some point during the 5 point adjustment (I put in a new transom shift cable before any ot this, b.t.w.). Cable length was already set, retainer bolt tightened, and I was getting ready to put the drive back on when I tried to "lock in" the 7-9/16" length,. <br /><br />So no, I didn't mean to suggest that you attach the transcome cable to the engine/shifting bracket BEFORE making the cable adjustment, swivel retainer adjustment, doing the swivel retainer bolt tightening procedure, etc., even if that's what I said,
. <br /><br />For various reasons I think my problem might have to do with the shift rod somehow. I'm gonna remove it's cover & take a look now that I've got a new shift rod cover gasket to put it back together again.<br /><br />Couple more thoughts for ya BG (and remember, I really am a novice, only thing I've got going for me is that I've spent way too many hours staring at the manuals and messing with the adjustments, and I still haven't got it competely correct yet).<br /><br />Is there any difference between lining up the lower portion of the shift cable guide flush with the housing and setting the bell crank at 90 deg using a square? Like the 7-5/8" measurement vs. the 7-9/16" measurement I mentioned above? How about accuracy? Seems like there is some variation at the bottom of the shift cable guide depending on where you place your straight edge. Plus, I wonder if the plastic might change over a number of years (don't know what it might wear on, but it is plastic). <br /><br />On the other hand, I have a heck of a time determining when the bell crank is at 90 deg to the casing, even when using a T or L square. It would be so much easier if the bellcrank was symmetric instead of narrower at the front; then I could just line up the top or bottom edge. Instead, I've got to visualize an imaginary line through the center of the bellcrank and line that up with my square. Maybe I have a problem with spatial perspective or something, but I find it very difficult to do.<br /><br />When you clean up stuff (as per PA), I'd suggest you actually pull off the bellcrank, clean it, regrease, and put it back on. <br /><br /><br />Bet there are at least a couple of 'old salts' glancing in on this post and laughing their arses off at some novices trying to stumble their way through a Cobra shift adjustment....
