84 Merc 260 shift cable. whats that part and how do I replace

[Fishermark]

Re: 84 Merc 260 shift cable. whats that part and how do I replace

So you have not removed the upper? I thought you did.

I guess I did not read it well enough either... I thought you had the entire outdrive off. You can pull it off without a cherry picker - the upper is not very heavy. I would suggest pulling it so you can check the condition of the bearing, check the alignment, etc. It is also easier to put back together on the bench - then put the entire outdrive back on.

 

[otgdy]

Re: 84 Merc 260 shift cable. whats that part and how do I replace

I guess I did not read it well enough either... I thought you had the entire outdrive off. You can pull it off without a cherry picker - the upper is not very heavy. I would suggest pulling it so you can check the condition of the bearing, check the alignment, etc. It is also easier to put back together on the bench - then put the entire outdrive back on.

Doing it on a bench sounds like a good idea. At least it will be cooler inside. I would feel better checking everything prior to reinstalling it. The only thing that gives me pause is "checking the alignment etc". Am I opening a can of worms ? Can you tell me or direct me to some documents that describe what I am aligning, checking etc? Knowing me I will probably replace everything in there while I have it torn down. Now you know why it is taking me 2 years to get this in the water. Isn't there a special alignment tool for this ? I seem to remember reading about a Merc part for engine alignment ?

Thanks again
OTG

 

[Fishermark]

Re: 84 Merc 260 shift cable. whats that part and how do I replace

At the top of the page there is a section with "must have information for DIY" - there is a good post there on engine alignment. There is some other good general information. I suggest you do some reading there. Here's the post on engine alignment.

 

[otgdy]

Re: 84 Merc 260 shift cable. whats that part and how do I replace

Well I pulled the outdrive off and the shift shaft looked ok initially. I removed the intermediate shaft and found the locking pin had almost completely backed out.
I removed the shaft , cleaned it up and reinstalled it. Looks good now.. well at least
it is pointing forward like it should.

Unfortunately the bellows (that the drive shaft is in) is full of sludge and the universal joints are all rusted. Cleaned out the area, regreased the U-Joints (which feel ok when twisting with my hands), regreased the inner bearing ( which too feels good spins well) and interestingly enough everything in there looks brand new. Flexed the bellows and it is flexible and doesn't have any junk on it. The only thing I found suspicious was the white powder around the 1-2 in outlet at the 8:00 position. Looks like it leaked into the bellows. The 6in (guess) round seal that seals the upper unit to the gimbal housing fell out when I pulled the upper unit. Found some brown glue residue where the seals are which obviously didn't hold. Thinking the failure of these two seals was the problem.
Sorry to go on and on .. maybe this should be another thread or is there another thread I should be reading regarding this ? Wondering if I should bite the bullet and replace everything in there or is there a way to verify whats there is still good.

Thanks again for all your help.
OTG