Cobra intermediate cable replacement

[A1957]

I’m getting ready to replace the engine coupler on my 1988 Cobra 350 and thought as long as I’m in that deep I should change the intermediate shift cable at the same time.
I ordered one from Sierra (18-2245-1) that is supposed to replace OMC # 987661.
Looking at the new cable, I see it has a small cable barrel that goes on with a couple of set screws. This is what makes up the end of the cable and seems pretty cheap and ripe to slip/fail.
i haven’t got the old cable out yet as the project is scheduled to start next week. Is this what the OEM cable would have had? Or would it have been more “application specific”.
I DO NOT want to have to do this twice.
Anyone have any experience or a recommendation for another cable?
Thanks

 

[alldodge]

Hey @Lou C or @kenny nunez

 

[Lou C]

Yes that’s how it is, I’ve never had a problem with that. Before you go thru the trouble of changing it measure the drag on the cable with a fish scale (both ends disconnected)…If it’s less than 2.5 lbs it’s good; the other thing to look at is the cable jacket where it goes into the pivot housing. If it’s getting cracked that can let water in and corrode the cable. So if you see that then yes replace it. If you can keep the drive down when the boat is stored they can last a LONG time, because then they don't crack for a very long time. Mine is the same cable that was in the boat when I bought it 22 years ago. When I checked the drag the last time I adjusted the cable it was perfect still! Personally I would use an OEM cable for this. You only want to do it once right?!
see this:

OMC Cobra Shift Cable Removal Installation Adjustment Instructions Gui

REMOVAL1. Remove Outdrive (Not covered in this guide) 2. Disconnect the transom bracket shift cable from the shift bracket located on the engine. 3. Loosen both set screws from the casing guide and then loosen the lock nut and unscrew the casing guide jacket so that only the bare wire end of...

www.nlamarine.com

 

[A1957]

The old cable seems to be fine. Pulls back and forth very easily.
So now I need to adjust the cable but I do not have the tool. I’ve ordered it but it’s a week away so…plus I Have a question about the tool.
I‘ve seen aftermarket versions of the tool (OMC 915271) that have a mark at 6” and I’m wondering if I center the cab le barrel over that or it I align the edge of the barrel with that mark. I ask because I saw another tool also marketed as a 915271 equivalent but it states it “uses the updated 7 9/16” dimension”. That’s a BIG difference.
Anyone got the skinny on this ???

 

[alldodge]

The old cable seems to be fine. Pulls back and forth very easily.
So now I need to adjust the cable but I do not have the tool. I’ve ordered it but it’s a week away so…plus I Have a question about the tool.
I‘ve seen aftermarket versions of the tool (OMC 915271) that have a mark at 6” and I’m wondering if I center the cab le barrel over that or it I align the edge of the barrel with that mark. I ask because I saw another tool also marketed as a 915271 equivalent but it states it “uses the updated 7 9/16” dimension”. That’s a BIG difference.
Anyone got the skinny on this ???

Think of it this way
The steel cable inside the tube when new moves real easy. The tube inside is just barely larger the the cable running thru it. As time goes along the inner tube wears and get larger. So if the same steel cable was put inside a garden hose it would move real easy, but there would be a lot of slop

 

[A1957]

It’s not flopping around in there. It feels exactly like the new cable I bought (but will return).
Any skinny on the adjustment tool differences/use/measurement points??

 

[Lou C]

The only tools I used were those actually sold by OMC so I can’t say if aftermarket ones fit the same but OMC did change that spec at some point. I’ll have to dig out my tools to jog my memory….

 

[A1957]

Update: I bought the tools for aligning the shift arm at the transom assembly and for adjusting the lower shift cable.
With the tool bolted to the transom assembly, I adjusted the intermediate cable per the instructions.
I then installed the drive and started to go through the shift cable installation/adjustment procedures. This is where my problem is…
With the contrail cable and bell crank adjusted per the book, the intermediate cable is WAY off from fitting from the bell crank to the trunion. If I have to radically readjust the length of the intermediate shift cable, what was the point of using the tool to adjust it earlier?
Am I missing something???

 

[Lou C]

Can you post up pix of how yours looks?

 

[A1957]

I’ll take some pictures today…

 

[A1957]

Here are a couple of pictures of the setup.

 

[A1957]

The lower cable (picture 2, red casing) is the one I used the tool on to set a very specific length on only to find out that at that length, it does not fit.