Lubricating shift cable. How?

Burns363R

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 15, 2015
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146
My shift cable was a bit rough this weekend. Whats the best way to lubricate it?

Thank you
 
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Burns363R

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 15, 2015
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146
Ya i would like to at least get to winter time with it. How do you deal with the penetrations through the hull when you replace it?
 

oldjeep

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May 17, 2010
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Ya i would like to at least get to winter time with it. How do you deal with the penetrations through the hull when you replace it?

Typical way is to duct tape the new one to the end of the old one and pull it through. Just did a steering cable in an 04 Malibu a few weeks ago and it is really the only way to feed it through all the various nooks and crannies they run through.
 

Burns363R

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 15, 2015
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Is there no actual seal at the transim that would prevent it from pulling through.
 

skydiveD30571

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Most people will say that lubricating cables does not change anything. For the most part I agree, but there are a couple things to check first.

Was it difficult going in and out of gear? Just forward, just reverse, etc? How old is the cable and when is the last time it was adjusted at the drive?
 

Burns363R

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Jul 15, 2015
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Forward to reverse mostly. When pulling up to a dock and trying to control the boat slowly coming in, where i will literally just drop back and forth from forward to reverse with no reving.

I have no idea, the boat is a 95. Probably original. Im just trying to get by to the end of the season.
 

gm280

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Burns363R, I have removes the inter cable wire from control and throttle cables before. And if you can clean both the cable wire and the outer covering well and remove any and all containments (dirt sand and such) and then coat the wire with a good grease, I can see it working better. Why not? It reduces friction and allows the wire to move freely. So I say go for it and see. What do you have to lose but buy a new cable if it doesn't work out... JMHO!
 

bruceb58

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Mar 5, 2006
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In order to remove the inner core, you have to remove the entire cable from the boat(needs to be straight) and then see if you can remove the core. If you are going to go through that entire trouble, you just replace the cable.

This is of course assuming you can even push the ends into the outer sleeve.

BTW, the cable manufacturers say not to lubricate the cable. The liner is plastic and greasing it will cause it to eventually jam and then you are really stuck.
 
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bruceb58

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I would disconnect the cable at the drive to make sure it's not the drive causing your issue. Disconnect and see if it's still stiff.
 

Burns363R

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 15, 2015
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Where can i buy a cable for my boat? And how does it usually penetrate the transom?
 

skydiveD30571

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I would disconnect the cable at the drive to make sure it's not the drive causing your issue. Disconnect and see if it's still stiff.

That's what I was getting at. About once a year mine will suddenly get really stiff and hard to get back into neutral from forward gear. Disconnect it from the drive and shift the drive manually to make sure the drive is not the problem, then properly adjust the cable and reattach it at the drive. These cables shrink and stretch throughout their life, and when they get even a little out of adjustment they can get really hard to move.
 

bruceb58

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Where can i buy a cable for my boat? And how does it usually penetrate the transom?

There is a rubber tube that the shift cable goes into on the engine side of the transom. When you pull your drive off(you do pull your drive right?) you will see where it exits the transom assembly.

On the cable housing itself, both at the console and drive side, you will find a code that indicates the length of the cable.

A very good replacement which I use on both of my boats is the Teleflex TFExtreme.

iBoats carries them along with others
http://www.iboats.com/Tfxtreme-3300-...iew_id.1183581

On your boat, you may have an OMC type control so you will need a cable that has OMC ends on the control side. They look like these:
http://www.iboats.com/Xtreme-Omc-Vol...iew_id.1182568

As you can see they are not that expensive for a good quality cable and not worth messing with lubricating them.
 
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smokeonthewater

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Dec 3, 2009
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9,838
Just replace it.... Ask a mod to move this to the correct driveline section and they'll talk you through it...

Lube on a shift cable is a no go.
 
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Mischief Managed

Lieutenant Commander
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Dec 6, 2005
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If it was an outboard, I'd say to try lube for a temporary fix, but on your drive, you really need to replace it.
 

JaCrispy

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Jul 8, 2014
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391
Depending on the design of the cable you can try using a motorcycle cable luber.
 
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