Cobra shift cable??

[JasonGS]

So I went boating yesterday and everything was fine and dandy most of the time on the water towards the end of the trip the boat would be in neutral and be still moving forward at idle speed... Got it back in and it is now stuck in reverse no matter where the throttle lever goes forward/neutral/reverse.. I got it home took off the out drive gear cable and I can move it back and forth with no change what's so ever my assumption the cable is no longer working... If so I a very mechanically inclined and would like to do it myself any suggestions on how I can accomplish this correctly??? I have a 94 boat with a 93 4.3 motor/out drive.

 

[redneck joe]

not sure which cable you have, but if you are doing any of it do it all. read an follow closely

http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/

 

[JasonGS]

After further inspection I pulled off the outdrive to find that the shift cable looks like it is working properly. I tried moving the drive shaft and it sounds like rubber is binding together and it isn't easy to spin... I can manually put it into neutral and it will automatically pop into reverse or forward. I have no idea what to look at to try and find the problem please help...

 

[Lou C]

That is normal because the impeller in the upper gear housing will resist turning the driveshaft by hand. So you're saying that it will shift into fwd, neutral and reverse? I'd remove the impeller temporarily and turn the driveshaft clockwise while you shift it into gear, watch to see if it shifts into gear (ie is the prop shaft turning when it is shifted to fwd and rev?). If so then your problem is either the cable, the bellcrank in the pivot housing, the cable adjustment from the control to the engine bellcrank. Read the link above and also see:

http://www.midnight-wolf.com/OMC_Install_Instructions.html

 

[JasonGS]

it will only be in reverse or forward wont go into neutral

 

[JasonGS]

I have the outdrive off and the cable seems to be moving properly

 

[bruceb58]

I have the outdrive off and the cable seems to be moving properly

That doesn't mean much if the cable housing has failed. Look at where the cable enters the pivot housing and look to see how the outer housing looks. That is where they normally fail.

 

[JasonGS]

Is it normal to have a bunch of silver little shiny particles in the outdrive oil ???

 

[bruceb58]

Some is normal because of the dog clutch wear during a shift. Depends on how much. Were you ever getting clunking WHILE you were in gear?

 

[JasonGS]

no just it wont go in neutral.. whenever its in forward no matter which way i take the throttle it goes forward... and visa versa with reverse...

 

[bruceb58]

My opinion is your shift cable needs to be replaced. Since you have the drive off, have someone hold the bellcrank back at the drive so it doesn't move and see how much slop there is when you try to move the shifter at the console.

 

[redneck joe]

not sure which cable you have, but if you are doing any of it do it all. read an follow closely

http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/

I've owned Cobra. THis is very important. If you have not read yet, please do so.

 

[palace]

You are,best,off getting the shift cable gigs that a r e recommended by OMC in a service bulletin. They make sure the bell crank is at 90 degrees and doesn't move when you are,adjusting the a cable,length. ttc

 

[wcasey5]

sounds like you have 2 problems, the ESA (shift engine stumbler) and the shift cable. If you can shut the engine off and it will go into neutral then the stumbler is an issue. It stumbles the engine to disengage the dog clutches. You could try idling the engine down to almost a stall and see if it will go into neutral, try testing the stumbler by pressing the micro switch on the shift mechanism and see if the engine stumbles. Then go to the cable. My opinion.

 

[bruceb58]

It's not likely the ESA. If the ESA was bad, he wouldn't even be able to move the lever at all.

 

[michigan boat guy]

I have an 88 omc cobra outdrive and when I put in forward gear the motor quits. The ESA is tripped.Is this a cable adjustment problem.

 

[bruceb58]

It could be or it could be a bad cable. The ESA isn't actually supposed to do anything going into gear but a cable that is old and is stiff will operate the shift switch. When you have completed the shift, there is another switch that actually turns the ESA off so once you have the control all the way forward, ESA should not be operating at all.

Too see if it's the ESA that is making the engine die when you shift, try unplugging it. Just realize that it may be duifficult to get it out of gear so plan accordingly. You may have to turn the engine off.