New Shift Cable?

[crdpoker]

Hi all,

Shifting problems this weekend (won't hold forward, reverse is fine) after putting on a different drive. Put drive on in full forward, prop locked, but when I push the lower cable all the way in, it still won't hold forward. I've heard of cables stretching, but do they shrink? Does it seem like I'm looking at a new shift cable, or does something else cause it to not go in far enough?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Bondo]

Re: New Shift Cable?

I've heard of cables stretching, but do they shrink?

Ayuh,... The Inner cable wears into the outer casing, causing a loss of travel....

Sounds like you need a New 1....

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: New Shift Cable?

Pull the drive and see if this happened

 

[crdpoker]

Re: New Shift Cable?

BT,

Thanks for that, but my slide looks good. The baffling thing is that it shifted perfectly until I pulled and split the drives. I've done A LOT of looking around, and know that normally this means that the drive shift shaft was off by one tooth when put back together, but I've verified and re-verified that my drive is shifting in the right places (straight ahead towards bow 12 oclock for forward, 11 for neutral, 10 for reverse).

What's concerning is that in forward, the boat/transom shift shaft/foot was pointing towards 11, not straight ahead (see pic). Is it possible that the previous owner had installed everything so that it would work 1 tooth off, and my installing it correctly is the problem? The pic below is the direction of the shift foot when the boat was in "full forward" (looks like neutral, but this is forward I swear). Other picture is of the drive in forward (looks right).

Is it possible my shift shaft is bent/wrongly positioned, or is new cable the only way to get it to point straight ahead?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Bondo]

Re: New Shift Cable?

s it possible my shift shaft is bent/

Ayuh,... Entirely possible....

If it isn't in Forward position,(the shift foot/ shoe) straight fore,+ aft,..
It'll get bent all to bejesus when the drive is pulled, or force-installed....

 

[crdpoker]

Re: New Shift Cable?

Thanks Bond-o. Any way to tell if the shaft is straight? Can the head on it twist, or if it's bent, would it be the metal shaft itself.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: New Shift Cable?

Thats more like nuetral ,you sure your in full fwd at the helm.
Not positive about the pic but I think fwd lines up like this

 

[crdpoker]

Re: New Shift Cable?

BT,

That's pretty much the problem, forward looked like that on the shift foot. I adjusted the cable as much as possible, and it's a lot more straight now, but it still won't hold forward gear even pushing the cable into the max manually.

That's why I can't figure out if it's my cable that's "shrunk", or my shift shaft that's twisted.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[NHGuy]

Re: New Shift Cable?

I had my upper shift shaft off last week to do a new bushing. I can tell you the upper shift shaft will have it's foot directly fore & aft when the shift arm inside the bell housing is at about 4:00 looking straight down from the top, that's forward gear. I found that if I put a bungee on the prop to hold forward that helps me, don't know if it is recommended by experts though.
Anything else won't go. If the foot is not straight ahead when in forward you'd better recheck the shift position or setup inside the boat. If you have had the shift cable off inside the boat you may have lost the setup, in that case follow the process as if installing the lower cable.

 

[crdpoker]

Re: New Shift Cable?

Thanks everyone. It looks like my shift shaft isn't that far twisted, so I'm going to start with the cable. I've read some reviews that say it's doable but lengthy (need the special socket), and some that say don't try it unless you're a professional. From the instructions online, it sounds like enough weekend warriors change their own cables (recommended seems to be buy original Mercruiser, not aftermarket). Is it that tough for someone who is comfortable removing/splitting drives, changing waterpumps, etc?

Thanks,

Chris