Alpha gen 2 shift cable installation

[MikeDobbs]

Hey everyone-

So I just finished up a full bellows job and everything went pretty well except one thing. There's this little plastic bushing that came with the shift kit that snaps into the hole in the transom where the cable passes through. The original was pressed in from the boat side of the transom, so I figured I'd do the same thing with the new one after I installed the shift cable. You probably see where this is going...

Does anyone have a good trick for getting that thing into position? If I stand next to the engine in the bildge, I can just get my hand down to it, but I can't quite get the leverage to push it through. In hindsight, I'm thinking I should have pressed it in from the other side, but that ship has sailed

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated

 

[Bt Doctur]

should have left the old one in there. goes in from the inside easier with the engine removed. I think its just added insurance against chafing.
should not affect the shifting if its left out

 

[Alumarine]

I just went through this. Is the cable in already?
I used a 5/8" deep socket reversed to push on the bushing.
That gave me just enough oomph to get it to snap in.

 

[MikeDobbs]

I just went through this. Is the cable in already?
I used a 5/8" deep socket reversed to push on the bushing.
That gave me just enough oomph to get it to snap in.

MMmmmmm- I had that same idea, but couldn't find a socket that fit over the cable end. I'll do some more socket searching tomorrow.


How big of a deal does everyone think it is if I leave it out?

 

[Alumarine]

I used a 1/2" drive deep socket.