Looking for info on a shift cable

[Austerity]

Austerity is a 1972 30 ft Pearson with tiller and on the side cockpit shifter and throttle cables. I'm inquiring if anybody has had to replace the shifter cable and where can I purchase one? From my measurements, I have found that this cable to be a heavy duty cable. The dimensions is the threaded ends are 5/16-24 both ends, 4.00" of travel, solid end caps and over all length of 11.00 ft.

Thanks,
Greg

[baileyem]

Greg,

Out of curiosity, why do you have to replace the cable?

I have a 1966 Pearson Coaster, also 30'. At one time I thought the cable on it was bad, or at least badly screwed up, but it turned out that one end of the cable sheath had come loose of its moorings. Once I fixed that problem, it has worked fine.

Mike

[Al Schober]

I went through this ten years ago with my Tartan 30, which needs a 13' cable. My original cable was a Marmac, bought out by Morse, and subsequently bought out by Teleflex. At the time, Teleflex only made them to order, meaning a week or two to get a replacement. Teleflex number at that time was CC695xx, with xx being the length in feet. I think I bought my replacement cable from Hamilton Marine, a Morse 304-262-004-01560 (43 series), where 156 is the length in inches. I also bought new clevises and clips. Been working fine ever since. Your best bet is to make some phone calls - you never know who's going to have your cable on the shelf (and perhaps ready to sell to you at 1989 prices!).

[Concord]

Cables

Also replaced the cable on my Tartan 30. I special ordered it through West Marine and it took about 4-5 days.

[Austerity]

Looking for info on a shift cable

Guys,
Thanks for the input... As for why? My Cable jacket is torn in some areas, but that doesn"t bother me. Some of the cable wires ( the outer core) are totally rusted and broken.Thinking it will break when coming into a dock, always at the worst time. So I'm trying to be proactive about it.
So new problem has risen since Friday. My engine will only stay running when the choke is on fully open. I bought a rebuilt carb last year and it worked great until yesterday. My guess the float is stuck open, but I'm not sure.
Can someone tell me if they ever feel confident that they can go out and the engine will not act up! some times I feel like I'm walking on eggshells every time out.

Greg

[hanleyclifford]

I like your use of the word "proactive". In the age of ethanol we need to be on guard against debris in the fuel system. Make sure you have at least two good filters, one with water separator (cartridge type is easiest). You probably have a fuel restiction causing your current problem.

[smosher]

Hi, For the shift cable you want a teleflex tfxterme 6400 series. http://www.teleflexmarine.com/produc...xtreme-cables/

On running with the choke closed this means that its running lean and by closing the choke it restricts the amount of air.
This is usually caused by a clog in the main jet. Try removing the passage plug and flushing some gas through the carb to clear it out.

There could also be a leak either in the manifold or the carb to cause it to run lean. If it was running ok, I'd try the passage plug 1st.

Do you have a polishing filter ?

[ndutton]

Greg,

First, as to the nature of your reported problem, time to take the carb apart again. Sounds like partially clogged jets, float valve issues or both.

Can someone tell me if they ever feel confident that they can go out and the engine will not act up! some times I feel like I'm walking on eggshells every time out.

The nature of this forum is to discuss problems and solutions so that's what you'll see here. There isn't a topic for 'My engine ran perfect yesterday' although I'm sure if there were you'd read plenty of success stories.

My advice is to stay on top of maintenance and be aggressive about repairs. For example, a few years ago (right after buying my boat and before going through the engine) my A4 died underway, acted like fuel starvation. Rather than chase one thing at a time, my solution was new fuel lines, new electric fuel pump, new fuel filter, carburetor rebuild and drain and replace the fuel in the tank, essentially a complete new fuel system. The result was trouble free operation thereafter.

Some might argue with this approach, saying it's a waste of money. I see it as insurance. The peace of mind is worth the expense and if we can afford a boat, we should be able to afford to maintain it.

I rebuild my carb regularly (every 2 - 3 years) regardless of performance, why wait for trouble? I acid flush my cooling system at similar intervals, fresh water flush my raw water cooled engine after each use, replace my fuel filter annually and never fuel up at the marina fuel dock, preferring to tote fuel to the boat in jerry cans from the corner gas station, the list goes on.

And if there were a topic for bragging, I'd be the first to post. My A4 starts every time within 1 second of cranking regardless of layoff time, runs smooth with excellent throttle response, temperature is rock steady.

[Marian Claire]

Austerity: I understand your “eggshell” feeling. Many times, holding for a bridge, running an inlet, miles off shore, etc I have hoped for no problems. I would fell that way regardless of what engine I have. I think the beauty of the A-4 is that it can be repaired on the fly with minimal tools and parts. The simplicity allows non-experts to do the repairs. I have had shut downs due to electric fuel pump failure and 35 yrs of crude in the tank leading to clogged filters but what engine runs without fuel? Most of my minor, just not running quite right, issues where due to something simple, loose fuel line connection, or a 40 year old part finally wearing out. A-4s can be sunk, overheated, abused and still be saved. So yes I leave the dock with full confidence that my A-4 will get me back.
There is nothing more reassuring than being able to motor up the ICW with Don Moyer on the phone answering questions and knowing this forum is just a post away. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[msmith10]

I went through this 1 week ago (shift cable replacement). It's good to be proactive. I've owned the boat 9 years, and it always shifted hard, but since everybody says Atomic 4's shift hard, I didn't think much of it. Last week I went to turn my boat around in my slip to wash the inboard side before a race, I pulled the shift lever up to go in reverse, heard a "pop" and suddenly had no reverse, no neutral-- only forward. The shift cable was gone.
I got back to my dock without any damage to anything but my pride, but it was a real bear getting a replacement. I had to get it air-freighted in from Connecticut.
The contributor above is right- you want a Teleflex 6400 series cable. They come in 2 basic configurations: with a bulkhead mount on one end or with clamp configurations on both ends.
The number for this cable with 5/16-24 threads on the ends and the clamp on style at both ends is ccx64311. The 11 on the end specifies an 11 foot length. You can try Jamestown Distributors. They list a price of $188.53. You can also just google teleflex ccx64311 and there are lots of hits. If you need the bulkhead mount, go to teleflex website and look through the catalog for the model number.
After replacing my cable, I don't know why people think it's hard to shift anymore. I can now feel the detent in forward, have a generous neutral zone, and comfortable reverse.

[Austerity]

Looking for info on a shift cable

I have to thank everybody for their replies. I love this forum cause I feel like I'm not alone. So Thank you! The Cable will be a clamp configuration on both ends so that is going to be purchased tomorrow. It looks like I'll be buying the ccx64311. Since I have the next two days off ( I'm going in to work on the carb and fuel). I do have Two filters on her now one Rancor and one polishing filter. I did read a thread about a little piece of rubber which caused the engine to stop. I like ndutton approach to fixing a problem. I'm really leaning towards rebuilding the motor over the winter. Some of these motors look like they could make Nascar absolutley beautiful. So tomorrow the carb comes off. So What is a PASSAGE plug? I'm also thinking it might be time to drain the gas and clean it out. I have a Monel tank, Any rules (precautions) ? Should I take it out of the boat to clean it?

Greg

[Administrator]

So What is a PASSAGE plug?

These images will help. Others will provide context...

Bill

[rigspelt]

Can someone tell me if they ever feel confident that they can go out and the engine will not act up! some times I feel like I'm walking on eggshells every time out.

I don't worry about our A4 now, and so do several others here, so have heart. Of course one must always be prepared for the unexpected at sea...

[Jim Booth]

The number for this cable with 5/16-24 threads on the ends and the clamp on style at both ends is ccx64311. After replacing my cable, I don't know why people think it's hard to shift anymore. I can now feel the detent in forward, have a generous neutral zone, and comfortable reverse.

Did you have to change the clamp hardware too, or did the old parts work? We're stuck a couple days from home until we can get a replacement for our Columbia 8.7. The old one measures 8', not including the 2" of threaded end that broke off.
Thanks,
Jim

[keithems]

I have to thank everybody for their replies. I love this forum cause I feel like I'm not alone. So Thank you! The Cable will be a clamp configuration on both ends so that is going to be purchased tomorrow. It looks like I'll be buying the ccx64311. Since I have the next two days off ( I'm going in to work on the carb and fuel). I do have Two filters on her now one Rancor and one polishing filter. I did read a thread about a little piece of rubber which caused the engine to stop. I like ndutton approach to fixing a problem. I'm really leaning towards rebuilding the motor over the winter. Some of these motors look like they could make Nascar absolutley beautiful. So tomorrow the carb comes off. So What is a PASSAGE plug? I'm also thinking it might be time to drain the gas and clean it out. I have a Monel tank, Any rules (precautions) ? Should I take it out of the boat to clean it?

Greg

this may be a late post, but.....

1. click on my name above and you'll find several posts i made at the end of my 1st a4 year in nov. 2008 re. the shifter cable -- i was able to get one made up locally [was referred by the lcl marina] for around $120. has worked great ever since

2. likewise my a-4 re. reliability. since 2008, i've only had problems at the beginning of the year [when launched before i remembered what needed fixing from last year], the end of the year [when i had been putting off fixing things till next year], or anytime i had fixed things not quite correctly. but for the most part, i can get in, start her up, go sail, start her again, and come home with no problem at all...knock wood

3. to paraphrase don and many others, if you have clean fuel flowing to the cylinders, spark once it gets there, and water flowing all around to keep things cool, you'll have reliability.

k