www.iFourWinns.com

Went to take the boat out today and noticed the shifter would not shift into forward or reverse, it was stuck in neutral. The only way it would move was if i pushed the little button that lets you rev the engine. Any idea on what is going on here? Engine is a volvo 8.1

Your help is much appreciated.

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Peter

2005 four winns sundowner
8.1L VP 375hp
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh117/4winns/

think you will find that the gear shift cable is frozen up ,they cant be lubricated with success and usually freeze up again within a short period of time,so best to replace the cable if that is the cause ,goodluck

My guess would also be a seized shift cable (pressing that button disengages the shift cable). if it's the original 2005 one , it's done very well; they were using standard Teleflex cables in 2005. They went onto TF Extreme shift cables soon after; a recommended upgrade, it transformed the shift quality on my 2004 Sundowner,

Hmm yes does sound like the cable....
I have an 88 OMC Cobra, I don't know what kind of cables were used when they were recalled because of faulty cables, but I've had the boat 9 years and it wasn't new when I got the boat, so it's got to be over 10 years old and still works fine (salt water use/mooring 6 months of the year)....
I know on the Cobra, though, the area of the pivot housing where the cable passes through, has a gasket to keep out water (pivot housing to drive gasket), the Volvo design (same gimble design as the Cobra) does not use a gasket where the cable passes through, this area is wet so corrosion can start in the cable end, correct?

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Agree. I replaced my shift cable last season on my 2005 and it made a big difference. Much smoother. Before--it was very difficult to get in reverse.

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Norris Lake, Stardust Marina, Andersonville, TN
2005 Four Winns 230 Horizon 5.7L Volvo Gi/DP
2001 Maxum 1900SR 5.0L V8 (Sold)
2011 Nissan Armada Platnum

Lou,

Once the cable exits the transom shield, the whole thing is exposed to water as the end of the cable is in the space underneath the shift cover, which is not watertight.. A gasket between the drive and pivot housing wouldn't help. (there is one seal there, on the water inlet pipe). There are those little seals on the end of the cable, more to keep sand etc out rather than water I imagine, they are not tight enough to stop water ingress.

Graham

Yep I have seen a Volvo with the cover off, on the Cobra the cable end terminates inside the pivot housing and water doesn't get in there as long as the gasket seals well. I guess this is why I have been able to have the same cable all these years...

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Thanks for the speedy replies. Anyone know what length I m supposed to get?

Thanks

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Peter

2005 four winns sundowner
8.1L VP 375hp
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh117/4winns/

It's the 16' one ( the 15' one is the throttle cable)

Graham

Something like this?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tfxtreme-Con ... 2a11b82e3c

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Peter

2005 four winns sundowner
8.1L VP 375hp
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh117/4winns/

This may be a stupid question and I may be way off base!! Was your drive up when you went to shift it??

I keep my boat all summer at the slip, never picking my drive up. I spent 3 days at P-town, at low tide I was in 2' feet of water. When we went to leave, I could not put it in gear, my wife says "the drive is up". Ending my small heart attack.

Nope the drive was all the way down when I was trying to shift.

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Peter

2005 four winns sundowner
8.1L VP 375hp
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh117/4winns/

That looks right; a bit expensive though, very unusual but they are available in the UK for less than the US ! This is where I bought mine:

http://www.marinescene.co.uk/product/5946/teleflex-33c-tfxtreme-premium-control-cables-16-foot

£33.95 is £28.29 ex 20% VAT, about 46 USD.I don't know if they export stuff.

Graham

Hi Peter...

Try this... the price is right as well.

http://bla.com.au/4-88m-16-cc633-tfxtreme-control-cable.html

I bought mine through here and they simply delivered next day to my local marine dealer for me to pick up.

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

Thanks for the link Alec. Ordered one last night. Are they hard to put in?

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Peter

2005 four winns sundowner
8.1L VP 375hp
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh117/4winns/