Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

[rbezdon]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

jme, sounds like you need to do an engine alignment. My 88 Cobra 5.0 slides pretty easy right up to the bolts. Coupler alignment to the gimball turned out to be Seawolf problem too. Better fix it because misalignment can cost you a coupler and then you'll really be cuss'in.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

bfd:<br />did the interior adjustments & tests & seems like I've finally got it. Couldn't test it on water as I assembled the outdrive 'dry' this time (no gasket or gasket sealer on the bolts) since I was tired of dealing with that mess everytime it didn't come out correct. Still think I'll trim the cable 'cause it feels like there is a 'catch' when I shift into reverse (with someone turning the prop of course). Plus, right now the transom shift cable trunion is right at the end of the threads; no room for future adjustment in one direction if needed. Figure shortening the cable a bit will provide a bit of room for future trunion adjustment if needed (I think).<br /><br />You state that I should "make sure you,re cable is pushed all the way into that engine side of linkage!". How & at what stage of the alignment procedure? <br /><br />jme:<br />after three or four tries I bit the bullet and went back & double checked my shift rod height. It was one revolution too high, apparently enough to keep me from getting the rest of the shift system adjusted correctly! Make sure you measure from the transom casing, not the shift rod cover.<br /><br />Also, something that really helped putting the upper & lower back together was to use some AstroGlide (one of those very slippery, water based 'personal lubricants' you can get at a drugstore or Wal-Mart) on the water tube and the bushing it goes into. Before, even after putting drive oil on them, I could barely get the upper seated by applying all of my weight while slightly rocking it. PITA! After using the AstroGlide, the upper slide on like a hot knife going through butter.

 

[clanton]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

If the engine is aligned, and the correct parts used. The problem is the 2 o-rings on the shaft and the u-joint is larger the the bellows, This was changed later models. I always used lots of grease on the splines o-rings, splines of the shaft, and outside of the u-joint assy. Then if you hold your mouth just right, slips in every time. There is web site that has all of the changes for the shift cable and adjustments. The clymer manual B738 has correct shift cable adjustments.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

Originally posted by clanton:<br /> ... I always used lots of grease on the splines o-rings, splines of the shaft, and outside of the u-joint assy....

Read above about the risks in using too much grease on the shaft....

 

[rbezdon]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

too much grease is a bad thing, creates a hydrolock inside of the coupler preventing proper assembly.

 

[jme1149]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

Ron,<br />I'll check the alignment, but I'm still attributing my difficulty to the akwardness of trying to handle this by hand, alone. I didn't mention it before but the boat has a cast-in swim deck covering the entire outdrive. I believe the stand will be a great help if I can get the height correct. We'll see what happens this weekend. Who knows, I might even get this thing running in time to winterize it.

 

[rbezdon]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

I feel your pain jme. And to think, last fall I spent 200 grand buying a second house with water behind it to have a place to dock the boat in the water so not to have to launch it every time and to be able to use my garage for other than storing the boat. Between the bogging issue, pulling the drive, changing the cam and blowing the head gaskets, mine has been in the garage more than on the water this summer. The wife is really pleased let me tell ya, not to mention the hour spent in the garage and on this site!!

 

[clanton]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

The grease does not go on the end of the shaft, only the splines o-rings and u-joints.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

Thanx for all the advice. Tomorrow I'm going to work on getting reverse back. Took the boat out the other day & everything is fine. Ran great. It shifts into forward with no problem, & there's no jumping out of gear, but does hesitate a bit going back into neutral. Do I have to go to Stuart's site & start from scratch? What do u guys think?

 

[rbezdon]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

I think since you dont have reverse, my suggestion would be yes. I bet that scares you cause that my mean pulling the drive off to get the rod height correct.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Here we go again........can't get cobra l/u back on

Sea Wolf,<br /><br />Like I mentioned above, I followed Stuarts procedure (actually, he compiled it from OMC documents; it's in the OMC service manual, but sure was helpful for him to organize it all and put info from the manual along along with info from OMC service updates in one place) and just couldn't get everything adjusted correctly. <br /><br />After several tries, I went back to the beginning and found the shift rod to be just 1 revolution too high (and those are pretty fine threads, too!). I kind of suspected it was off a little bit cause I could peek in when putting the outdrive back on and see that the bell crank was just a little lower than the center of the "v" notch on the shift rod, but tried to adjust everything else without going back and splitting the drive. Wishful thinking, unfortunately. <br /><br />Made the adjustment to the shift rod and finally got everything to work. <br /><br />I don't have the OMC tool to hold the cable casing length at the engine end at 7 9/16", but found that the following seemed to work:<br /><br />I put the transom shift cable trunion at the engine end into the trunion pocket to keep that fixed. I attached the shift pin hole to the pin on the shift lever (nothing is hooked up to the shift lever at this point) and rotated the shift lever until I had the specified 7 9/16" measurement on the shift cable. I then clamped the shift lever in place using several different size spring loaded hand clamps to keep the shift lever (and hence the shift cable casing) from moving. Then I went back to do the transom end, reasonably confident that I had the correct settting at the engine end and that it wasn't going to move (double check after anyways, to make sure you really did have the shift lever clamped securely and that nothing slipped).<br /><br />Once the cable was set and locked at the transom end I took the transom shift cable and hand clamps back off at the engine end and continued as specified. Sure beat climbing back into & out of the boat to check! (or needing to have another person hold the distance inside while I worked outside).<br /><br />Hope this helps, good luck!