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Lubing a shift cable while installedletbs kick this around

wwolff64

Member
"Well, this one ought to be fu

"Well, this one ought to be fun:

I've replaced my share of shift cables (one pre-alpha, and two bravo ones). Every manual, and every individual I know that calls himself a boat mechanic, along with all the sites that want to sell you parts stress over and over that sticky shift cables are not something you lube, they are something you replace. And I believed that.

HOWEVER.

Most of the boats at our boat club on Lake Erie are at their docks for the season (not trailer boats). The bulk of them don't even own trailers, but pay for seasonal hauling, or any hauling when service required.

A friend from the club was having serious trouble with his stbd engine stalling on reverse/neutral transitions, and we narrowed it down to a rather stiff shift cable between the engine and outdrive(after verifying that it was properly adjusted).

We both knew that there was going to be some cost involved in the haul out that was going to negatively impact his available drinking funds (we take that seriously at the club).

He is also an avid motorcyclist, and had recently come across a device for lubing cables. I don't know if anyone has seen these before, but they basically are a hinged/split cylinder that can open up, clamp over the barrel end of the cable, and then you tighten it up to seal this thing onto the end of the cable. It then has a rubber-sealed hole into which you insert the "straw" from the can of spray lubricant.

I told him I was pretty sure he was wasting his time, but we both agreed that he was looking a haul-out in the face anyway to change the cable, so he had nothing to lose and this was then a free experiment.

Well, we worked the cable, and noted the resistanc. Then after the first treatment, we worked the cable, and thought MAYBE it was a tiny bit better, but still not going to resolve the stalling problem, but the improvement from one was worth trying it again... Well, after 5 iterations of lube and then cycle the cable 10/15 times, this cable felt pretty darned good. We hooked it back up, and the stalling problem was GONE. So phase 2 of the experiment began (how long till this comes back).

That was 6 weeks ago. He's still good.

One month ago, I had a similar problem with the shift cable on a pre-alpha toy boat I was bringing back to life. Now, it was a test to see if his was a fluke or if the improvement would repeat. Same process done to mine, same incremental improvement noted over the course of multiple treatments, same positive resolution of shifting stalls. I've got a month on mine, still seems great.

Now, I'm certainly not here to say that this could or should solve problems that come from split housings that cause rusted/gunky cables, etc... I think we all know that sometimes busted is busted and you suck it up and fix it.

BUT (and this is where I'm opening up the floor for opinions):

1. Has anyone else had a similar (or opposite) experience with this type of cable lubing device?

2. Why so much absolute-ism from people who say "that doesn't work"???

Obviously, you need to be smart and use a lube that can stand exposure to moisture without turning into a clump of sticky goo, but

Is there not a possibility that maybe there is indeed room for one of these lube-it kits in the boat tool box? Even if it's nothing more than the difference between hauling mid-season to fix it versus fixing it in the fall?

Maybe I live under a rock (or the other shoe is going to fall pretty soon), but I'm just amazed how well this little thing has worked so far on two different boats, and yet it is directly opposed to the standard school of thought that it feels like I'm "tugging on Superman's cape" by just admitting we did this and asking if anyone else has as well...

Anybody want to kick that around a while?"
 
"Never tried it, but I'm g

"Never tried it, but I'm game for anything once.

Damn, I just changed my lower shift cable in early June. Wish I had known about this then; I would definitely have given it a try.

What is the name of the lube device, and where do you get it?

Rod"
 
I'll find out and get it t

I'll find out and get it to you tomorrow or so.

Does this site go nuts over publishing product names? Some do...
 
Not usually a problem.
We try


Not usually a problem.
We try to support Marine Engine in whatever parts and support they handle of course.

Rod
 
I used to do the cables on my

I used to do the cables on my old Honda bike every season with the cable lube aerosol. Haven't seen it for years. Where does one buy it these days? Bike shops don't have it around here.
 
I've seen it advertized in

I've seen it advertized in a bike book and plan to get one and use it if need be since it seems to work.
 
"Never tried such tool, but do

"Never tried such tool, but do believe in lubing the cable rather than replace under some circumstances. No point in just buying a new cable every time thinking it can't be re-lubed. This tool could certainly be useful

I have re-lubed the inner cable on several boats that I felt were too stiff/sticky from aging but not wornout from use. However this has always been with boat out of water. I have simply pulled inner cable, wiped it down with a solvent, then coated it with grease before reinstalling. So far I have had excellent results."
 
"OK, at the risk of getting ki

"OK, at the risk of getting kicked off for putting up photos, etc, check this out, one photo at a time.
217030.jpg
the tool"">
217031.jpg
with lube can"">
217032.jpg
the package"">

This is the stuff we used."
 
"Ayuh,....

Go for it,....


"Ayuh,....

Go for it,....

It's Still just a Band-aid.....
And,...
Replacement is Still the only Cure....."
 
YES I have resurected many a c

YES I have resurected many a cable buy removing the inner core and cleaning it with a good spray solvent like wd 40 and blowing it out with compressed air. Repeating several times.

Then a very light coat of oil usually motor oil.

What one has to remember here is yes this will work and who is to say how long. But the root cause for the issue has be understood.

there are a couple of "normal" root causes that I am aware of.

1. the cable gets heat cycled many times seeing that it is laying on the exhaust horn and gets dry and the cable material breaks down.

2. the inner core wears out the surrounding material because of the 90 degree bends that it travels thru and the fact that it moves when the outdrive is raised or lowered.

3. bad routing of the cable or poor installation techniques.


I just replaced my own not due to resistance but the bellows tore after 21 years!!!! The short cable was still the original and when I got the new one the inner core was coated in a black teflon. This should allow them to last much longer.
 
"Pleased to see that there are

"Pleased to see that there are people landing on both sides of the issue.

Bondo, concur that this could (and probably should) be viewed as a band-aid. Per my original post, I very much agree that sometimes you simply HAVE to replace hardware that is worn out. I think we've all experienced the results of trying to short-cut something that needs to be done right--that simply NEVER works out well in the long run.

I'll even go a step further and say that if I were making my living as a marine mechanic, I'd be somewhat concerned that, if offered this option, people would always choose it as the low cost path at the time, and hold me responsible if the issue reappeared in a week. I can very much see that side of the argument.

I also don't think that using this device/lubricant make a cable "new" again. I was born at night, but not last night.

Having said that, this thing sparks my interest because it provides at least a reasonable possibility that you can save a big haul-out bill and down time in mid-season--or save a vacation about to be stopped in mid-trip, etc...

I'm certainly not opposed to calling it a band-aid. There's a reason those things were invented too. Quite handy little devices, those band-aids..."
 
pull the drive and put a new s

pull the drive and put a new shift cable in it..

Part number 18-2190e it is a tfXtreme

I have Relubed them up for years with great success: but I promise this new tfXtreme cable will take care of the problem for years.....when installing it just add some anti-size with marine grease mixture and your set. I promise.

Plus the drive need to come off periodically to ck the gimbal bearing and bellows and trim wires......

the boat will sink with a bad bellows......U know
 
"Just to be clear:

I do not


"Just to be clear:

I do not and would not ever advertise this as a replacement for normal end of season maint. This (IMHO) device and its use would be a potential interim fix to MAYBE get the owner through the remainder of a season until scheduled haul-out--at which time the cable could be serviced properly during the course of the standard end-of-season ritual (drive lube chg, U-joint lube, alignment check, bearing inspection, etc--you know, that stuff that you do before you put her away so you can sleep at night during the winter months).

Again, interim fix, not permanent solution. But still, that interim fix can make the difference between bad times (lost vacation time/haul-out expenses/blasting a dock or another boat when a motor dies) and a happy boating season.

Just thoughts..."
 
i see this as something that c

i see this as something that could be done to maintain the cable. Some liquid white lithium grease squirted in there during the mid season checkup might not be a bad thing. It could be a good way to keep a good cable from going bad.
 
It sounds good but just the ac

It sounds good but just the act of removing the cable and re installing it can cause more problems then expected.

Once a short cable is installed CORRECTLEY it is best to leave it alone until it is suspected as the cause of a problem.

Most cables of any type dont like to be messed with once installed.
 
"Concur, Kghost.

To use t


"Concur, Kghost.

To use this tool, you need to take the cable loose from the mechanism at the engine, and get the tube/guide off of it so that you are looking at bare cable core coming out of the cable housing.

That involves some disassembly, handling tiny parts (always an opportunity for me to dump something way into the back of the bilge). Then, you need to work the cable quite a bit through the iterations, and if you are not careful, that is an opportunity to bend the cable core.

All of that is an opportunity to CREATE problems.

I'd have to be VERY VERY VERY bored on a summer day to think that I wanted to take apart shift cables that were functioning just fine to perform this task.

No Thanks. If I'm messing with cables, it's because something is wrong with them. The great lakes season is too short to go looking for trouble that's not already there in shift cables..."
 
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