Pre Alpha shift cable removal to do bellows......

Fordiesel69

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Sep 18, 2009
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I need to do bellows on a 74 pre alpha 120HP.

I have the merc manual off here and I simply cannot comprehend how to take apart the shift cable. I have a practice transom I cut out of a 165HP that I will try first.

It is my goal to take it apart without breaking the cable as it is the old style that will need to be tapped for the new style. I don;t think I can handle it if it is that complicated. All other aspects of the bellows job is easy to understand.

Oh, where do I buy new drift pins for to hold the hinge pins in place. Someone used nails.

Better yet, can I replace the shift cable bellow without doing it all?
 

fishrdan

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Jan 25, 2008
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6,989
Re: Pre Alpha shift cable removal to do bellows......

The manual should have instructions of how the cable is installed, so removing it is just the opposite. If that doesn't make it clear, the cable end inside the boat comes apart (undo 2 square head set screws on the plastic cable end, then the nut on the threaded tube, unscrew the tube) then the cable will slide out. The cable slider (drive end) has a set screw that's safety wired; clip the wire, unscrew the set screw, then remove the slider off the cable.

For how much to do, I think a person would be crazy not to replace all of the bellows and shift cable if they haven't been done recently. If a bellow or the cable fails, you will be digging back in there again to fix it. Not worth the $avings.
 

Fordiesel69

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Re: Pre Alpha shift cable removal to do bellows......

How do the nails come out of the hinge pins? Do I drive them into the gimbal ring, or do I try to pull them out with a pair of vise grips?
 

DarrinT

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Aug 7, 2008
Messages
158
Re: Pre Alpha shift cable removal to do bellows......

I was a total newbie when I did the same job using a Seloc Manual - lots of guys say its not the manual to use but it had step by step instructions for the do it yer selfer that I found worked great

Vice grips when I changed the pins later

but I never removed the bell housing to do that job - all seals and cables and I had the old style that was a ***** to thread the cable back through and seal it

Three hours to properly thread and seal the cable - newbie or what
 

ziggy

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Jun 30, 2004
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7,473
Re: Pre Alpha shift cable removal to do bellows......

the nails are from the oem.
the nail protudes out the fore side of the gimble ring. just by a little bit. they are then bent over (down) into a recess in the fore side of the gimble ring. just strighten out the nail, start to push it aft till the nail head is showing. then grip and remove however ya can. be careful. to the best of my knowledge there are large and small nails. the small ones (like I have) are nla. to remove the hinge pin, from memory, it is a 1/4-28 screw thread. use a slam hammer w/ some male 1/4-28 screw thread stud to pull. fwiw, mine didn't offer much resistance to remove.
 

Fordiesel69

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Re: Pre Alpha shift cable removal to do bellows......

So I unbend the nails from the backside of the gimbal ring and pull them out them front with a pair of vise grips.

Then the hinge pins get pulled out not driven in.
 

ziggy

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Re: Pre Alpha shift cable removal to do bellows......

So I unbend the nails from the backside of the gimbal ring and pull them out them front with a pair of vise grips.
depends on which side your calling ft and back... the nail head is aft, the pointy part of the nail is fore. when the gimble ring is installed... ;):D

yep, ya got the idea... i think after i straightened the nail out, i used a punch to get the nail started aftward by punching on the point of the nail. then used the nail head to help extract the nail, removing aftward... ;)
Then the hinge pins get pulled out not driven in.
that's true. pull them out to remove, drive them in to install. the little extra hole ya see in the hinge pin imho is so ya can rotate the pin to align the nail hole with the gimble ring when reinstalling the nail.
 

Fordiesel69

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Sep 18, 2009
Messages
1,146
Re: Pre Alpha shift cable removal to do bellows......

I have a practice transom and I was able to take the cable apart and slide it out the broken bellows with everything assembled. We will see if it is really this easy on the boat...........

The other bellows look nice.
 
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