"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?"
"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?"