How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

[Spivy30]

I have a boat with twin cobra drives and i'm doing some maintence, i.e. replacing gimbles, bellows, etc. just to be safe down the road and I figured I might aswell look at the shift cables too. How do I know if I have the newer style shift cables? Anything else I should do while I have the drives pulled? I checked alighnment, replaced the impellers, and greased the u-joints.

 

[Frozen]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

i believe the old style cables were black and the new style cables are red.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

a 89? Yours should have the new stuff...

BTW that is a awesome looking boat..

 

[Spivy30]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

Thank you for the info, I just bought the boat last fall on ebay, somebody had stolen the outdrives and all the electronics so I got the boat for pretty much nothing. I lucked out and the motors ran. Now im just in the process of returning it to its former glory

 

[gdombroski]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

On the Bayliner OMC's the recall was issued after 89. I think late 90 or 91

 

[sea wolf]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

I'd change em out anyway. The boat's more than 20 years old & u don't know whether or not they were ever replaced. Not worth the risk of damaging the drives imho. Cheap insurance.

 

[Don S]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

I'd change em out anyway. The boat's more than 20 years old & u don't know whether or not they were ever replaced

Why ???? How do you know the previous owner didn't have them replaced a couple years ago.
That early cable and gear problem was when the drives first came out. If they were still installed the drives wouldn't work. There were recalls and they were replaced.

 

[Spivy30]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

My shift cables are red and seem to shift fine

 

[sea wolf]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

Why ???? How do you know the previous owner didn't have them replaced a couple years ago.
That early cable and gear problem was when the drives first came out. If they were still installed the drives wouldn't work. There were recalls and they were replaced.

I don't. And he didn't know either. But I'd rather be on the safe side & change cables rather then twin OMC's. But I see in his last post that his cables are red & shifting fine, which wasen't mentioned in his 1st post. I suppose I should have advised him to ask the previous owner how old the cables are.

 

[gdombroski]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

Why ???? How do you know the previous owner didn't have them replaced a couple years ago.
That early cable and gear problem was when the drives first came out. If they were still installed the drives wouldn't work. There were recalls and they were replaced.

Mine are 89 OMC 5.8L's and the cables are black. I know the recall was after I took delivery in June 89 but they work fine.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

Mine are 89 OMC 5.8L's and the cables are black. I know the recall was after I took delivery in June 89 but they work fine.

If it ain't broke....

 

[Spivy30]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

My biggest concern is that half way through the season i'll have a problem and have to have the hauled out because a $100 dollar cable broke and it will end up costing me big money

 

[RIDEPATE]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

My biggest concern is that half way through the season i'll have a problem and have to have the hauled out because a $100 dollar cable broke and it will end up costing me big money

I don't think the old ones really "break", they just streach and cause the adjustments to go south, resulting in grinding, thus the rather sensitive OMC gearsets don't like. If they are red and it shifts good, no worries.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: How do I know if I have the new style shift cables? OMC Cobras

The way they fail is that the outer housing fails where it enters the drive. Its not because of cable stretch. With the drive tilted up, look up under the drive on the right side and examine the cable housing there. It will be very obvious if the housing has started to fail. Problem will be more likely to occur if the drive is left tilted while stored.

The OMC gear sets are no more sensitive than other brands. When OMC first started having problems, they thought it was the gearsets and that is why they changed the angles of the dog teeth but it was actually cable problems.