Lubricating transmission cable
 

Shifting into forward, back to neutral, into reverse and back to neutral has always been a bear on my boat. I don't know if this is unique to my old-style arrangement with the throttle and shift at ankle level on the port side of the cockpit -- but I'm wondering if others have the same difficulty. I'm wondering if I should pull the Teleflex cable and lubricate it. If so, what lubrication is advised? Much appreciated!

My experience with a similar situation is only a sample of 1, but perhaps worth sharing.

I put up with stiff shifting for years, thinking the resistance was normal. I learned it wasn't normal the hard way--after I'd destroyed the thrust collar bearing when pushing into forward. I suspect but can't prove that I over-stressed the bearing, which I believe Don Moyer warns about in his document on the adjusting procedure for the reversing gear.

Once I removed the cable to lubricate it, I discovered it was impossible to move without the leverage of the control arm. With a new cable (and another reversing gear from Moyer), the force required to shift is much less, and similar to other boats with A4s that I've been on since then. In hindsight, I should have periodically checked the cable after detaching it from the reversing gear shift lever.

Perhaps you will be able to lubricate your cable, but if you have any doubt, beware of the risks a stiff cable may pose.

Best regards,

Jack

What Jack said. The cable is not serviceable, must be replaced.

Thanks, gentlemen.

I searched the MMI site on the topic and found Neil's post with the Wholesale Marine link. My Catalina 30 cockpit shift should accept a 6400 series cc643 series cable... They don't have 11 foot cable, so I'll go with 12 foot.


https://www.wholesalemarine.com/tele...SABEgJkOPD_BwE

Thanks, again!
Dwight
(Sailhog)

Had same issue when I got the boat.
Yes fix is shifter cable replacement.
Makes a world of difference.
http://cajun.dyndns.org:81/seeker/cable1.jpg

That cable looks fine to me, Cajunspike. Tell me you didn't throw it away!

That was the worse spot, but the outer covering was split in 3 other places.
Where the cable had the hardest bend, is where it was split open in that photo.

If that wasn't enough, the bar that the cable bolts to, was just about rusted into oblivion.

This was AFTER the cable hold bar was fixed. The rust is evident.
http://cajun.dyndns.org:81/seeker/rustybar.jpg

This is the cable hold bar just aft of the engine?

Yes. It bolts to the top of the tranny extending rearward. The shift cable end clamps to it, allowing the shift cable to be held steady.
I knew the cable was bad but the condition of this hold bar was a complete surprise.
Would not have been good for that bar to fail under the stress of pushing real hard on the shift lever, probably at the worst time possible.
1/3rd of the entire bar had to be reinforced from rust. The visible part looked great. The hidden part(out of normal view) was rotten.
http://cajun.dyndns.org:81/seeker/wholebar.jpg

Your boat may or may not have this particular design.
The basic message is check all the parts of the shifter system when you have it apart to replace the cable.

Thanks for this, Cajunspike. This situation crosses my mind every single time I approach the dock...