Boomyal
Supreme Mariner
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2003
- Messages
- 12,072
The old surface mounted shifter was getting a bit stiff after 26 years. I did not know whether it was the cables or the cams and levers inside the box that were the culprit.
I disconnected the shift cable at the converter box and the control was still stiff. I then removed the control box from the side panel to seperate the halves to see the state of lubrication inside the box. Along with dealing with the stiffness, I decided to refinish the box while I had it apart.
Along the top and ends of the box, a strip of tape had been applied, ostensibly to keep any water from entering the box at the seams. This tape (approx 1" wide) was a bit decorative in that it was black in the center with chromey kind of strips on the outside edges. Naturally the tape (very deteriorated) had to be pulled off to split the box halves. There was quite a bit of corrosion of the aluminum box going on under the tape. The box was not originally primed well and just had a coat of black paint on the bare aluminum.
I have stripped the box of it's internals, bead blasted it and primed it with zinc chromate. Following that I will give a coat of catalyzed epoxy primer followed by a top coat of Por15 black engine enamel.
My question is this. I have never seen any adhesive tape of this nature. Does anyone else have experience with this and know where a suitable tape can be found. I hate to go to all this work, put it back together, freshly painted and lubed and have water enter the box from the case half seams. As the case halves are a simple butt joint, I can see no other way to seal it up.
I disconnected the shift cable at the converter box and the control was still stiff. I then removed the control box from the side panel to seperate the halves to see the state of lubrication inside the box. Along with dealing with the stiffness, I decided to refinish the box while I had it apart.
Along the top and ends of the box, a strip of tape had been applied, ostensibly to keep any water from entering the box at the seams. This tape (approx 1" wide) was a bit decorative in that it was black in the center with chromey kind of strips on the outside edges. Naturally the tape (very deteriorated) had to be pulled off to split the box halves. There was quite a bit of corrosion of the aluminum box going on under the tape. The box was not originally primed well and just had a coat of black paint on the bare aluminum.
I have stripped the box of it's internals, bead blasted it and primed it with zinc chromate. Following that I will give a coat of catalyzed epoxy primer followed by a top coat of Por15 black engine enamel.
My question is this. I have never seen any adhesive tape of this nature. Does anyone else have experience with this and know where a suitable tape can be found. I hate to go to all this work, put it back together, freshly painted and lubed and have water enter the box from the case half seams. As the case halves are a simple butt joint, I can see no other way to seal it up.
