Bravo Shift Cable Bellows Ripped in Half....

[San_Diego_SeaRay]

....just replaced it a year and a half ago when I replaced the entire shift cable and housing...???

Anyway, what is the easiest way to replace this bellows? Is it as easy as removing the drive then removing the aft jam nut at the gimbal housing? Then push the cable housing towards the transom and slip the new bellows over the 5/8ths nut at the end of the cable housing?

 

[achris]

Don't need to remove the drive.

Turn wheel full port, then tie it off. Trim it full up.

Remove all the hardware at the shift plate end (tube guide and tube), tie a cord to the remained of the cable, then you can pull it out of the gimbal housing through the space left by that trimmed up hard port turn. Untie the cord, remove the old bellows, fit the new bellows, tie the cord to the cable and pull it back in... Easy peasy...

Chris.....

 

[San_Diego_SeaRay]

Wow thank you Chris. Took me about 10 times reading that to figure out what your technique was but it all makes sense now. Brilliant. And the fact I don't have to remove the drive is quite a bonus, turning the job from a two man job into a one man job and cutting the time down immensely. Thanks again!

 

[alldodge]

Don't see how you can replace the boot without removing the drive. Cab do it with a Alpha but not a Bravo. The center cable comes out from the stern, and the jacket is held in by a nut

 

[Bt Doctur]

Chris,Its a Bravo. drive must come off, remove nut remove cable core, remove outer sheath by pulling out thru the shift bellow. R/R bellow ,
Too great a chance of kinking the cable and sheath

 

[dubs283]

Too great a chance of kinking the cable and sheath

This.

You will create too sharp a bend in the cable and risk damage.

Do it right, pull the drive, remove the cable completely. My philosophy is if you remove a component, just replace it with new. You've already done half the labor anyway, why risk failure by installing a used part?

 

[achris]

Despite the manual saying to remove the cable (it's assuming the cable's to be replaced at the same time) I maintain that the bellows can be replaced without removing the drive. Remember, the cable's not being replaced, just the bellows. I've used this method on enough drives to know it does work. The only thing you have to watch is that you don't pull the cable too tight and make too small a bend radius where the cable goes into the bell housing.

Chris.......

 

[San_Diego_SeaRay]

OK guys thanks for all the input. I'm definitely going to try to avoid pulling the drive if possible. But like AllDodge indicated, I thought there was a brass jam nut that threaded on to the cable housing that secured it into the gimbal housing. But as always really appreciate everybody's expertise. You guys are awesome.

 

[San_Diego_SeaRay]

OK guys thanks for all the input. I'm definitely going to try to avoid pulling the drive if possible. But like AllDodge indicated, I thought there was a brass jam nut that threaded on to the cable housing that secured it into the gimbal housing. But as always really appreciate everybody's expertise. You guys are awesome.

OK I forgot why I read Chris' original post 10 times. Chris is saying that the entire nut/gimbal side stays intact. It is the shift plate (engine) side of the cable that will be pulled back through the transom plate aftward towards the transom assembly. A cord will be attached to the "engine" side of the cable. After temporarily detaching the cord, the "engine side" of the cable housing will then be threaded through the new shift bellows, and the cord re-attached to thread the cable housing back up to the shift plate.

BT Doctur's concern is whether or not there this method allows for enough radius to pull the shift cable out w/o permanently kinking it. Chris mentioned trimming the drive up and to the port side to give you as much room for radius as possible. He also said he's done it many times. I read somewhere that this lower shift cable is only about 3 feet long. I'm definitely gonna give it a shot. Again, thanks for the feedback. It all helps.

EDIT: And I should clarify that yes, I'm only changing the lower shift cable bellows. Not the shift cable housing and/or the cable core.