Re: 1989 four winns 18' horizon with 4.3l v6/cobra outdrive
I have a 2 foot longer version of the same boat, same drive etc. Good boat, handles the water very well. Engine/drive is also good but harder than a Merc or Volvo to get service for. I'd see if there are any Evinrude dealers in your area that have been around a long time that were there when OMC was still in business. They may have a tech that knows Cobras. Or you might ask around among independent shops to find out if whey work on Cobras. I have a good OMC shop here and was able to get any of the parts I needed over the years. What is now hard to find are the one piece exhaust manifolds but there is an aftermarket alternative to switch to a 2 piece system. The most needed services parts are available from an Evinrude dealer through BRP, or aftermarket (Sierra).
The main thing with the Cobra is the shift linkage is tricky to set up but once you know how to do it, they shift great. I taught myself to do this using the 3 special tools OMC came out with and updated service information available on
Midnight Wolf Sales - OMC Tools
They sell the 2 tools you really need, the third measurement can be made with normal hand tools. They have up-dated OMC shop manual information that can be followed by a reasonably skilled do it yourselfer to do the shift cable adjustment.
If you run it and it shifts easily into gear and out of gear to neutral and does not jump out of gear, then no worries. However, if you have trouble with shifting in, or out, or staying in gear get it fixed right away or it will wear out the sliding clutch dogs.
