Installing the New Version of the Bell Crank With the Grease port

[KM7]

I'm installing the new version of the Bell Crank with the grease port. It has a hole drilled through it to allow you to grease it through a Zerk fitting. I have to remove the plug that is in the Pivot Housing.

Any tips on doing that?
I could drill it out. It will have to be a water-tight seal when it is all back together.

 

[KM7]

The new part number with the grease port is 0915796 Bellcrank

It replaces 0911722

 

[alldodge]

Hey @Lou C or @Scott Danforth have any ideas?

 

[Lou C]

Ok I also bought that, mine didn't have one being a 1988. HOWEVER....I don't know that I will install it because, I'm not sure that I will be able to get that plug out and also, the next time I have to replace the shift cable, I doubt that the shift cable retaining nut will come out of the pivot housing, so I will probably wind up replacing my original with a spare fresh water used one I bought.
Also, while I think this is a great idea, what I have done for over 20 years in salt water is simply this:
each season drive gets pulled
I clean out any crud that is behind the bellcrank
Grease it up good with marine grease
and every 5 seasons or so, replace that little O-ring that goes on the bellcrank shaft, that's what keeps water from the exhaust area out of the bellcrank area. If when you pull the drive, the grease in there looks milky, that oring is probably leaking/all flattened out.
I also clean off the sealing surfaces of the drive, and pivot housing, and coat both with OMC gasket sealer, same with the gasket. This keeps water out pretty well, and keeping water out, and the bellcrank greased, will keep your Cobra shifting like it should, with just 2 fingers.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I do not

 

[KM7]

I successfully removed the plug. My understanding is that the new plug with the Zerk fitting can be installed from the outside after the new Bellcrank and shift lever are installed. It could be done even after the complete OD is installed. But can someone confirm that? Since this is a modification to the original configuration, none of the manuals and reference materials I have discuss the installation. Would there be a Service Bulletin for this?

You may notice the Socket head bolt instead of the standard hardware in the shift lever. That is because I had to drill out and tap new threads into the lever. It was damaged getting the broken bolt out. I tapped 5/16 - 18. I used a stainless steel socket head and threadlocker to keep things in place.

 

[Lou C]

Looks good!
I will probably wait till I have to change the shift cable and then see if it will come out of my original pivot housing or if I have to replace it with the spare one I have....

 

[KM7]

The plug on the starboard side of the OD came out with some work. I soaked the area with CLR, pryed it with a screwdriver from the outside and hammered on it with a screwdriver from the inside. That worked.

After I got the plug out, I cleaned up the hole with more CLR, a wire brush and then sandpaper rolled up into a tube. This will have to be a water tight seal after I install the new plug with the Zerk fitting.

I will update this once I install the new plug.

 

[KM7]

Here is the new Bellcrank plug with the grease fitting.

Is there a service bulletin for installing it? It is not a tight fit in the pivot housing. I thought that it could be a tight fit to the end of the bellcrank, but the bellcrank rotates so that must not be the case. Can someone confirm that? Is sealer needed around the outside edge? What sealer?

 

[Lou C]

Not sure as I have never installed one nor do I know anyone who has (I used to see a few Cobras around here but have not seen one in years).
By the fit do you mean how it fits in the pivot housing, or how the shift bellcrank fits into the inner part of this plug? I would think it should fit tightly into the recess in the pivot housing, it has to be water tight after all, but the bellcrank should be a loose fit because you want it to move easily after all that's the whole point of the grease fitting. I would probably use OMC gasket sealer or Permatex aviation when installing it. What I have been doing every season is to use a grease gun needle injector attachment on my grease gun to grease the bellcrank whenever I reinstall the drive, and I also fill that recess behind it with grease. That has kept it moving fine, for over 20 years, with a salt water moored boat. I think the grease fitting is a good idea, but perhaps not totally necessary, if the owner is willing to pull the drive at the end of each season. It surely has helped me to avoid a lot of failures and repairs, over the 20 years of use here in the salt pond.

 

[KM7]

I'm asking both, how it fits in the pivot housing, because it seems loose.

In addition, I need to understand how the shift bellcrank fits into the inner part of the plug. Like you said, that must allow the bellcrank to rotate.

I put the OD back on the boat because I wanted to run it and see that it shifted smoothly. I had assumed that I could just tap the new bushing into the hole in the pivot housing after installing the OD.

I guess I should not have done that. I could take the OD back off just to make sure everything goes together correctly. That means I will need a new gasket. I created extra work for myself!!

 

[Lou C]

Yep but better to really be sure we did the right thing! One of the critical things on the Cobra system is the drag on the shift cable and bell crank/shift lever. The more easily it moves, the better the shifting will be. The actual drag on the shift cable when both ends are disconnected is not supposed to exceed 2.5 lbs as measured with a fish scale.