www.iFourWinns.com

Ok, so, I have had the typical symptoms of a shift cable that needs to be replaced. Got the cable, read everybody's notes on just tape the new one to the end of the old one and pull it through the drive and through the boat. Nice.

However, it's not pulling through. Got it a few inches and that's it. No amount of push/pull will bring it through.

Any wise thoughts?

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Gordon Arnold
New Hampshire

2003 268 Vista ..................................................................Prior: 97 245 Sundowner

Straighten out the hose from the drive the cable slides into as much as possible and pull the shift cable all the way back like it is shifting into forward and push through. Also remove the rubber boots from the cable jacket and reinstall after the cable is through the drive. It works for me everytime

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'96 200 Horizon 5.8l VP/SX

Gordon its a PITA depending how tight the factory tightened the zip ties securing the wiring and cable along its run. I had to drop the ceiling in the aft cabin to help mine along. Once I did that it was a piece of cake.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

Thanks guys. I went back to it .... since now the old cable would not move at all, due to kinking it.

I pulled the rear engine hatch and pulled the cable hose away from the transom a bit and re-taped the two cables, end to end, not overlapping. By the way, before I even started the first time, I tried to buy a 10-32 threaded sleeve to connect the cables together, as I figured the tape would pull apart if much pulling was required. However, the local hardware had none (we live up in the woods, sort of).

So, anyway, pushed the cable into the sleeve on the original (at the drive end) and the cable into the sleeve on the new one, so that the fixed ends would be as short as possible (as fiznuka noted) and taped them end to end.

Then got into the engine compartment and pulled the cable as it comes out of the hose/tube, behind the engine ... as opposed to trying to pull it at the console. The tape did break, and the old cable pulled from the tube, but the new one was past the drive and into the transom bracket and hose by then, so I just shoved it from the outside until it came through the tube.

Re-taped it to the old cable and continued to work it up toward the forward bulkhead, by pulling at the old cable up through the console while also pulling the new cable through the tube/hose (two people). As it got up to the bulkhead, could not get it through the spray-foam where the cables and wires go through and the tape pulled apart and the old cable pulled through the bulkhead. As this point, I removed the aft-cabin starboard headliner panel (three screws) and then shoved the new cable up through the foam at the top corner of the bulkhead (from the engine compartment) ... into the area above the now open side-hull area. This is where all of the wiring and cables are run.

As Firecadet noted, the zip ties were too tight for the old cable to pull the new one through ... as was the foamed pass-through at the bulkhead. At this point it was easy to rouet the cable forward and up to the console. It would help to have someone also pulling the cable through the hose in the engine compartment ... otherwise, you're up and down (literally).

Sooo ... that's pretty much it,. Hopefully, this may help others .... more than "just tape them together and pull it through".

AND .... got out on the water for a few hours at the end of the day ... swimming, snorkeling, sun-down and grilling.

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Gordon Arnold
New Hampshire

2003 268 Vista ..................................................................Prior: 97 245 Sundowner