Need lower shift cable info for 160 merc

My 69 model 160 (sn 2497444) still has the old style lower shift cable, which I understand is no longer available. It still works, but not all the best. I remember reading instructions a year or so ago on how to update and install the newer style, but the guy who wrote them seemed more interested in being a comedian than instructing, so it was kinda hard to follow. Anyway...I can't even find that now. Someone said it was in the manuals but I can't find it there either. I have both books of Mercruiser service manual #1. I need to find some good instructions so I can decide whether to tackle it myself this winter or find someone around here to do it. I'm hoping I can do it myself because getting someone around here to work on an I/O is a real trick.
Anyone know a link for me to read? Tips and tidbits from anyone who has done it would also be much apreciated. I remember something about tapping out a hole and needing a special thin wall socket-type tool...but can't remember much else.
thanks

Re: Need lower shift cable info for 160 merc

http://www.mercstuff.com/shiftcable1.htm-- this should explain it for you.hth

Re: Need lower shift cable info for 160 merc


Here ya go!.......

Re: Need lower shift cable info for 160 merc

Thanks, guys...so tell me if I'm understanding this part. You have to use the 1/4" pipe tap from the opposite side of the bellhousing to get rid of the thread taper so you can thread the new style cable into the bellhousing from the inside. Then you put a nut on the back side. Sounds do-able...or is it tougher than it sounds?

Re: Need lower shift cable info for 160 merc

no the cable goes in thru the back and into the bellows then into the boat.now you thread the cable in fromthat direction.its easier to install that way.have somone inside the boat pulling and turning the cable with you.you need a thin wall socket to screw the cable in.usually craftmans are thin.

Re: Need lower shift cable info for 160 merc

I'm confused

Re: Need lower shift cable info for 160 merc

Shown below is the bell housing. You are looking at the aft side, the side where the new shift cables are fit through and screwed in. The old lower shift cables screwed in from the side closest to the transom. You will tap the aft side you are looking at in the photo and feed the cable into the boat and then screw in. Have a friend, preferably not a drunk one, inside the boat turning the lower shift cable as it is being screwed in to prevent damage to the cable.

Re: Need lower shift cable info for 160 merc

Great....got it now. I think I can do that. Finding a sober friend might be the hardest part.
Many thanks.