1987 omc reverse problems

[ib656]

hi all,

this is my 7th season with a 1987 renken 1750 ltd w/ an omc 4.3 l - black out drive (i do not know if this is a cobra).

boat and motor have been great. going into forward is fine, but starting late last season, when i try to go into reverse there is sometimes a clicking noise... i go back into neutral and try again, sometimes is goes into reverse, sometimes it clicks again.

i did have a mechanic adjust it and it worked fine for about 2 - 4 hours, then when leaving a dock, it started happening again.

any thoughts on whether something that was adjusted loosened up or if i need a new cable or set of gears? is this a common problem as the mechanic told me? thanks and this is a great forum

 

[Dakota47]

Re: 1987 omc reverse problems

Its a cobra, someone painted it. Do you see a red cable coming off the throttle linkage going back towards your outdrive?? if not then you need a new lower shift cable. adjusting those old black cables is worthless.

 

[ib656]

Re: 1987 omc reverse problems

Its a cobra, someone painted it. Do you see a red cable coming off the throttle linkage going back towards your outdrive?? if not then you need a new lower shift cable. adjusting those old black cables is worthless.

if they did paint it, it seems they did it at the factory as i see no signs of white paint on any of the wear areas.

i will check on the red cable...were these put on at the factory when they realized the black cables were not good or was this the common aftermarket fix?

anyone have any idea how involved replacing a lower shift cable is? time / $$$ ??

also, any idea why the adjustment the mechanic performed did not last too long?

thanks,

 

[Dakota47]

Re: 1987 omc reverse problems

Cobra`s are dark grey and they say OMC on the top of the outdrive, they are Not white.

 

[ib656]

Re: 1987 omc reverse problems

Its a cobra, someone painted it. Do you see a red cable coming off the throttle linkage going back towards your outdrive?? if not then you need a new lower shift cable. adjusting those old black cables is worthless.

ok i finally got to look at the cable coming off the throttle linkage and yes it is red...is that good or bad?

next option to help diagnose it not going into reverse some of the time?

thanks

 

[fourwinnsdook]

Re: 1987 omc reverse problems

The red cable is the good one, mine does the same thing, but i have the black cable. I'm interested to see what the problem is.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: 1987 omc reverse problems

Even though its the red cable it could still need replaced.Those cables only last a few years.
The out drive will need to be removed. If the mechanic adjusted the cable without pulling the drive you are lucky it still has lower gears!
Very few techs know how to adjust the Cobra cables.

Read this! http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/kw-shift.html

Also, I sold my boat with the Cobra drive. I have a complete shift cable kit with instructions and new brackets.It is original OMC,not aftermarket. If anyone is interested...