Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

Hello everyone, First time poster. Been lurking for a few weeks resolving most of my problems on my new 1974 Century Raven 19 with 225 OMC. I put it in the water this weekend and had a steady stream of water coming from where the shift cable enters the boat. In this video this guy mentions adding silicone to prevent leaks. What kind of silicone should I use? Should there be some sort of boot or seal that I am missing? Mine seems to just have a cable going through. I have the service manual and have done quite a bit of searching and cant really come up with a solution except for using silicone like this guy mentions in this video. Any help would be great. Thanks, Scott

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

Start video at 1:17

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

You can find parts diagrams for your motor and drive here...http://shop2.evinrude.com/Index.aspx?s1=597kf1eg9oiqh07np271i7gjd4&catalog_id=0&siteid=1

Select "stern drive" from the drop down. If this doesn't help you with this problem, it certainly will in the future.

Typically when people use a sealant (don't use silicone) on their boat, they use 3M 4200 or 5200. 5200 is permanent so if you ever want to remove it use 4200.

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

Levinz11 said:

You can find parts diagrams for your motor and drive here...http://shop2.evinrude.com/Index.aspx?s1=597kf1eg9oiqh07np271i7gjd4&catalog_id=0&siteid=1

Select "stern drive" from the drop down. If this doesn't help you with this problem, it certainly will in the future.

Typically when people use a sealant (don't use silicone) on their boat, they use 3M 4200 or 5200. 5200 is permanent so if you ever want to remove it use 4200.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip using the 3M 4200. I have looked at the Intermediate housing cut away a bunch of times, the problems is that the cable is on the side I can't see. From what I can tell there is not a boot or gasket that seals this cable in the IH. I did look at the cable and it has "ribbed" sections that look like they would act as a seal but probably not seal it enough. Here is the cutaway of my IH maybe someone else can share some info on where the cable enters the IH and how to make sure it is sealed. Thanks

1974 OMC Intermediate Housing

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

The thicker part of the cable with the ribs is what is supposed to make the seal going through the IH. Mine is in good shape and seals fine without any added sealant, but if the cable has hardened/cracked/been damaged or if the hole it passes through is pitted/corroded inside it won't seal anymore. Put the cable in and use a bit of 4200 at either end to seal it up. If you coat the whole thing, even with 4200 instead of 5200, you may not be able to get it back out again the next time you have to pull the drive and those cables are getting hard to find and $$$.

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

NW Redneck said:

The thicker part of the cable with the ribs is what is supposed to make the seal going through the IH. Mine is in good shape and seals fine without any added sealant, but if the cable has hardened/cracked/been damaged or if the hole it passes through is pitted/corroded inside it won't seal anymore. Put the cable in and use a bit of 4200 at either end to seal it up. If you coat the whole thing, even with 4200 instead of 5200, you may not be able to get it back out again the next time you have to pull the drive and those cables are getting hard to find and $$$.

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Awesome! Thanks for the replys everyone. First I am going to replace my impeller, transform seal and then I am going to seal the cable area when done. Can you think of any other gaskets or maintenance I should take care of on the outdrive before putting her all back together?

BTW this website rocks!

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

Make sure you grease the splines on the pump shaft real well when you re-assemble. Also put grease in the fitting under the plastic cap about half-way up on the front side of the leg. (A lot of people don't realize there is a zerk fitting under there.) Go slowly and fill it until you just start to feel resistance. Grease the trunion caps as well.

This would also be a good time to check out the tilt system. It can be a lot easier to get the tilt motor out by reaching in though the transom while the boot is off. If you don't know when the last time the motor has been checked I would pull it. If there has ever been standing water in the bilge it will get into the motor and cause problems. You can check the brushes, clean up the commutator, etc. to save yourself future problems. Check the clutch housing for water and inspect the clutch pack. Replace the o-ring and shims (often called gaskets but they do not seal the housing, the o-ring does.) Make sure to use 2 shims and don't over-tighten the cover. Re-fill with regular motor oil, or some people use gear oil same as in the drive upper gearcase.

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

NW Redneck said:

Make sure you grease the splines on the pump shaft real well when you re-assemble. Also put grease in the fitting under the plastic cap about half-way up on the front side of the leg. (A lot of people don't realize there is a zerk fitting under there.) Go slowly and fill it until you just start to feel resistance. Grease the trunion caps as well.

This would also be a good time to check out the tilt system. It can be a lot easier to get the tilt motor out by reaching in though the transom while the boot is off. If you don't know when the last time the motor has been checked I would pull it. If there has ever been standing water in the bilge it will get into the motor and cause problems. You can check the brushes, clean up the commutator, etc. to save yourself future problems. Check the clutch housing for water and inspect the clutch pack. Replace the o-ring and shims (often called gaskets but they do not seal the housing, the o-ring does.) Make sure to use 2 shims and don't over-tighten the cover. Re-fill with regular motor oil, or some people use gear oil same as in the drive upper gearcase.

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Thanks NW! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. Hope you have a great week

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

Us "white drive" guys are the "black sheep" of iboats, we gotta stick together! Good luck!

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

NW Redneck said:

Us "white drive" guys are the "black sheep" of iboats, we gotta stick together! Good luck!

Click to expand...

What type of oil should I use in my sterndrive?

Here is a screenshot from my service manual:

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

For the upper, you can use any good quality gear oil like OMC Hi-Vis or equivalent. For the lower use only OMC Premium Blend or other 'Type-C' gear lube. You can use the type-c in the upper with no harm, but using regular lube in the lower can cause shifting issues with our electric shift drives. Do a search in this forum for 'stringer info' and you'll find a thread I made with some basic parts & tune-up info that may be useful as well.

Re: Shift cable intermediate housing water leak 1974 225 OMC

NW Redneck said:

For the upper, you can use any good quality gear oil like OMC Hi-Vis or equivalent. For the lower use only OMC Premium Blend or other 'Type-C' gear lube. You can use the type-c in the upper with no harm, but using regular lube in the lower can cause shifting issues with our electric shift drives. Do a search in this forum for 'stringer info' and you'll find a thread I made with some basic parts & tune-up info that may be useful as well.

Click to expand...

Thanks again buddy

Wish I could buy you a beer.