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Shift cable replacement 3.0 Cobra

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kpg7121

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I'm changing the shift cable on my 3.0 Cobra. I have everything removed from the engine side & I pulled the old cable down thru the transom. That's where I'm stuck. On the pivot housing there is a brass nut holding the cable in place. On the other side of the nut there is a copper tube. When I loosen the nut the tube turns with the nut, so I can't finish removing the cable from the pivot housing. What am I doing wrong?
 
Ok, never mind. I figured it out. I just grabbed on to the cable & unscrewed the whole works. Hey, bear with me. This is my 1st time replacing that cable, but I'm learnin'. Now, I'm waiting on the USPS to deliver my new cable. Priority mail my arse!
 
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Well, I replace the cable. Went to the Hastings site, did all the steps & I have reverse, but no forward. It looks like the bell crank is not pivoting high enough to move the shift rod into forward gear. I have the drive off again & will try it again. But before I do does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?
 
OMC Cobra -- Shift Rod Adjustment, Standard Production Models, & Thrust Washers

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Joe Foster
posted this on Feb-15 2010 14:23

OMC Cobra Adjusting the Shift Rod

Move the shift rod to NEUTRAL.
Rest the OMC Shift rod height gauge on the housing surface. Screw the shift rod in or out until the upper arm of the gauge contacts the top of the shift rod head, approximately 7 - 13/64" high. Another half turn either way is acceptable to bring the notched side of the head forward.
 
Thanx Chief, but I had the drive split & adj. the shift rod. I did the adjustment again & now I ain't got zip. With the drive back on I can't even get the shift handle at the helm to go into reverse. Something is binding. The black trunnion on the cable will not even move with the drive back on. The helm shifter will go forward, but it's not shifting. I'm ready to throw in the towel, trouble is there's only 1 OMC mchanic within 40 miles of here & he's swamped. I could slap myself for ever buying a boat with a friggin' OMC hanging off the back. This shift system is the most pi*s poor designed piece of crap I have ever come accross. No wonder OMC went bankrupt with the crap they designed. Anyone that buys a boat with an OMC drive is just asking for trouble.
 
Ok, I pulled the drive off, again. Guess what? Found the bellcrank all bent to hell. Why, I don't know. Everything was lined up & the drive slides right in. Saw one & only 1 on ebay for $50 bucks. Other suppliers want $100. By the way, sorry to vent. I'm not bashing anyone else's Cobra, but mine has been a nightmare & I'm pretty good with a wrench & figuring out how things work. I just think it's a pi*s poor design.
 
Well Chief, it looks like the SEI conversion is the only way out of this mess I have with this Cobra. I looked at their website & it says I may need a new shifter if the throw can't be reversed for the new Merc style shift cable. How do I know whether or not the throw on my current setup can be reversed? The boat is an '87 & is the original helm setup.
 
you sure you want to sink another 2-3 grand into this pos.

You will have 87 boat in the end.

Where generally in the real world are you?
 
chiefalen said:
you sure you want to sink another 2-3 grand into this pos.

You will have 87 boat in the end.

Where generally in the real world are you?
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No, I'm not sure. The rest of the boat is in good shape & the engine purrs like a kitten. I sure as hell ain't gonna get another boat for 2k that ain't a pos. I may order the bellcrank & start over again. As far as the real world goes, I ain't sure about that either.
 
i meant here in jersey they have cobras and all kinds of other omc stringers laying on the side of the road and a few at the marina i launch at. Maybe i would have went or you could have went to ask what they want for them. I'm sure in a few cases nothing.

oh well i tried to get you some parts for free.
 
This shift system is the most pi*s poor designed piece of crap I have ever come accross. No wonder OMC went bankrupt with the crap they designed. Anyone that buys a boat with an OMC drive is just asking for trouble.
Click to expand...
Ur, blame Volvo Penta, not OMC. They designed the Cobra drive. Still make 'em as the SX. Not a bad drive, just misunderstood.

I'm guessing that you're missing a step if you say you followed the Hastings directions. As good as that site is, it really offers nothing more than the shop manual as far as adjusting the cables and the shifting.
1. Be sure the lower drive is in neutral by turning the prop. There should be no binding and it should spin easily. If you adjusted the shift rod, you're good.
2. Be sure the shift handle is in neutral. Stupid, yes, I know but some handles appear to be in neutral when they are in fact, not.
3. Take all the cables off the engine.
4. Set the bellcrank angle using a clear plastic elementary school type triangle. Set the triangle against the housing and set the bell crank arm up against the bottom edge of the triangle so that the bell crank is at 90. Do not move the bell crank from now until you have completed the cable adjustment.
5. Inside the boat, pull out the cable until it is 7 9/16ths (within a 32nd) from the end of the brass ferrule to the center of the hole. This is critical and you must not mess it up. A clear day glo plastic ruler from CVS is the right tool.
6. Back at the bell crank you may now install the egg shaped nut on the cable. turn it until it stops in alignment with the fixing bolt hole. Install fixing bolt, and put a lock nut on the cable end.
7. Inside the boat, reattach the lower shift cable to the lower pinion. Loosen the upper pinion (the one in the slot) so that it is free to move. If the lower cable has an adjustable trunnion, adjust it so that the upper cable will meet its pinion about halfway in the slot.
8. Tighten upper pinion in place and attach the cable with a cotter pin.

That's all you can do. It should shift pretty well at this point as long as you have the idle set low enough and your ESA module is functioning. Be sure the micro switch is engaged when you operate the shifter, should hear a little click when you tug or push fore and aft on the upper shift cable pinion. Dry test to see if the drive goes into forward and reverse.
 
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chiefalen said:
i meant here in jersey they have cobras and all kinds of other omc stringers laying on the side of the road and a few at the marina i launch at. Maybe i would have went or you could have went to ask what they want for them. I'm sure in a few cases nothing.

oh well i tried to get you some parts for free.
Click to expand...
Sorry about that Chief, I wasen't trying to be a wise guy. I live in upstate N.Y. Probably wouldn't be worth it for me to take a road trip to Jersey with the price of gas & all. All I need is a bellcrank.
 
o2batsea said:
Ur, blame Volvo Penta, not OMC. They designed the Cobra drive. Still make 'em as the SX. Not a bad drive, just misunderstood.

I'm guessing that you're missing a step if you say you followed the Hastings directions. As good as that site is, it really offers nothing more than the shop manual as far as adjusting the cables and the shifting.
1. Be sure the lower drive is in neutral by turning the prop. There should be no binding and it should spin easily. If you adjusted the shift rod, you're good.
2. Be sure the shift handle is in neutral. Stupid, yes, I know but some handles appear to be in neutral when they are in fact, not.
3. Take all the cables off the engine.
4. Set the bellcrank angle using a clear plastic elementary school type triangle. Set the triangle against the housing and set the bell crank arm up against the bottom edge of the triangle so that the bell crank is at 90. Do not move the bell crank from now until you have completed the cable adjustment.
5. Inside the boat, pull out the cable until it is 7 9/16ths (within a 32nd) from the end of the brass ferrule to the center of the hole. This is critical and you must not mess it up. A clear day glo plastic ruler from CVS is the right tool.
6. Back at the bell crank you may now install the egg shaped nut on the cable. turn it until it stops in alignment with the fixing bolt hole. Install fixing bolt, and put a lock nut on the cable end.
7. Inside the boat, reattach the lower shift cable to the lower pinion. Loosen the upper pinion (the one in the slot) so that it is free to move. If the lower cable has an adjustable trunnion, adjust it so that the upper cable will meet its pinion about halfway in the slot.
8. Tighten upper pinion in place and attach the cable with a cotter pin.

That's all you can do. It should shift pretty well at this point as long as you have the idle set low enough and your ESA module is functioning. Be sure the micro switch is engaged when you operate the shifter, should hear a little click when you tug or push fore and aft on the upper shift cable pinion. Dry test to see if the drive goes into forward and reverse.
Click to expand...
Thanx a bunch Batsea. I'm going to run thru the procedure that u lined out as soon as I lay my hands on a bellcrank.
 
Yeah, I find that If I recheck and set the bell crank to 90 degrees after setting the 7 9/16ths measurement of the cable end, it allows less chance of screwing up the entire adjustment. The cable innards tend to move less easily than the bell crank. I think it's pretty obvious that one would do it that way if you didn't have the OMC tool that holds the bell crank in place. If you have an assistant who can hold the bell crank steady while you futz with the cable end distance adjustment, so much the better. Grease everything.
I also have the idle set as low as possible. Not so the engine will conk out, but just above that. When the ESA module is in play, the engine should act like it is about to die, but doesn't. Shift the lever with authority but don't jab at it. It's sort of a 1,2 count. Let the engine gag and then complete the shift. Practice in open water your slowing, stopping, backing and going forward again. Don't wait until you are in a crowded ramp to find out how the boat handles at zero speed.
The dog clutch engages more solidly with more thrust, so the faster the prop is spinning the harder it will be to shift. Make sense?
 
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1986-1993 is the pure OMC Cobra, with dog clutch in the lower unit shifting. 1994-1998 is is the Cobra SX with Volvo internals and cone

I admit to the whole world i was wrong please forgive me. I was off by a year, not bad for a guy who can't remember who or what i ate last nite.
 
Just a follow up. Got the new bellcrank in day before last. Installed it & followed Bastea's steps on the shift adj. I now have forward & reverse. Whew! Thanx again.
 
Well, took the boat out yesterday for the 1st time this season. Launched it & it would not go into reverse. When I ran it off muffs I had forward & reverse. I don't get it. Why would I have both gears off muffs, but not when I launched it? I didn't do anything that would throw off the adjustment. It goes into forward perfectly, with a slight thump, no grinding. I opened it up & I heard no bumping sound that Cobra's do when the cable is out of adj. Other than that the boat ran flawlwssly. Any ideas?
 
Got that idle down to just barely breathing? Sure the trunnion is not too far forward on the cable housing? Visually observe the amount of throw FWD vs REV at the pivot arm while someone operates the shift lever (dry, engine off) to see if it is more one way than the other. Shift cable from throttle should be attached to the upper pinion about halfway in the slot. You should have loosened the pinion nut to allow the pinion to slide to where it wants to be before tightening up its nut. That way the painful lower cable adjustment you made will be even front to back.
 
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