Late 50's Evinrude Controller cable repair

[asdasc]

I have an old Evinrude controller that once was used with a 59 18hp motor I got. Today I decided to take a look at it to see if it was frozen. At first I thought it was, but found that it was just REALLY stiff. I got the bright idea that I would pull the cable all the way out and spray penatrant thru it and put it back together. Well, after about 2' out I chickened out and tried pushing it back in. NO LUCK!

So tell me, have any of you done this before? Is it possible?

Will things go better once I fully commit and flush the cable good with WD40 or something?

By the way, the controller seems fine and just needs some good cleaning and lube. The cable is where all the friction is.

 

[david_r]

Re: Late 50's Evinrude Controller cable repair

well you already have it part way out and cant get it back in. i say you have nothing to lose by trying penetrating oil and cleaner.

let us know how it turned out.

by the way wd-40 isnt a lubricant its made to disperse water. i would use liquid wrench or some other penetrating oil.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Late 50's Evinrude Controller cable repair

replacement cables here: http://www.iboats.com/Johnson_Type_...9951643--**********.418687173--view_id.250883

 

[F_R]

Re: Late 50's Evinrude Controller cable repair

You probably have the old "thick" cable style. The steel wire wrap around the inner core wire would rust and deteriate, making them stiff. There is no real cure except a new cable. The new ones will be the "thin" cable style with no steel wrap.....MUCH better. They sell them here at iboats

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Late 50's Evinrude Controller cable repair

And cables are not that expensive... But as mentioned, you have nothing to lose but pulling it out all the way now and lubing and cleaning it and seeing if it will go back in...

 

[asdasc]

Re: Late 50's Evinrude Controller cable repair

Thanks for the help guys. I didn't get any time to work on it tonight, but I will finish it off tomorrow for sure. Ironically, I wasn't actually using WD40, I was using liquid wrench, but I need to get another can with the spray pipe.

Without it I am making nothing but a mess.

Thanks again, like you say, I have nothing to lose at this point.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Late 50's Evinrude Controller cable repair

Plus, if you pull the bowden wire all the way out, just put a heavier oil in - no need to use a penetrating oil as you essentially have a long thin tube that will guide the oil from one end to the other. Dribble some 30wt down the tube until it comes out the other end then feed the bowden wire back through. If that doesn't do the trick, then FR's inner rust may have occured, in which case it's time for new cables...
- Scott

 

[F_R]

Re: Late 50's Evinrude Controller cable repair

I have tried many times to get the old stiff thick cables freed up, with varying success. Go ahead and try it, with nothing to lose but your time. But may I offer an opinion? Even when brand new, those thick cables were way stiffer than the newer thin cables. So even if you manage to get them back to new condition, which I doubt, they will still be inferior. Another thing: They were not adjustable. The new ones are. In other words, it just isn't worth it to mess with them.

The only exception would be if you are doing a "correct" restoration and everything has to be as it was when it was built.

 

[asdasc]

Re: Late 50's Evinrude Controller cable repair

Hi FR, actually I really appreciate comments like you just made. A lot of times, I just don't know enough if repairing things makes sense to do or not. Without ever using the new ones, I don't know what I am missing. It looks like I have the 'valuable' part working fine, and that is the controller itself. Those are over $130 to replace.

I may mess with this, if I get bored, just to see what I can learn, but I very much appreciate your sharing your experience and guidance on what things make sense to fix or not, and why.

There is a VERY heavy dried up grey grease of some sort that is causing the friction. There doesn't appear to be any rust and the steel wire I have pulled out looks new. If only I could get the old dried up lube out, it may work again. The other mitigating factor is that I really have no where to use this controller, but am still playing with the idea of the twin 18's outboards on the back of my pontoon boat. The key to that would be that I have pretty much everything I need already to make it work, so it would be free doubling of horsepower/redundancy.