A-4 transmission cable

[glen_dc]

My transmission cable is kinda tight and you have to push / pull with both hands to switch gear. My mechanic told me that it's one heckuva job to change the cable. Any suggestions how to make it less tight?

I have an extra transmission cable but it's not from E-29. Are A-4 cables the same or it depends on boat type/vendor?

 

[Jarod]

I did mine on my e27 and I didnt find it was particularly difficult when comparing it to other jobs on the boat...I doubt it took more than an hour. I had the cable custom made as I was told by a local shop that the standard cable would not work. I believe Moyer Marine has the cables for sale and when it comes to the A4 they are a great company to deal with. I live in canada and they are always great with the shipping and the customer service is excellent.....i just double checked the site and it doesnt look like they have the tranny cable. I think your best bet is to remove the old one and take it to your local cable maker and see what they can do...shouldnt be a problem for them.

 

[tenders]

I agree--it's a pretty straightforward job. On my Ericson 32 it attaches with a cotter pin on the engine and shifter sides. There's an eyestrap holding it down on each side, keeping the lead fair, that has to be taken off. Then the cable just pulls out. I'd suggest taking a picture of the installation before you pull it out to avoid future bad spaghetti.

A new cable is going to be well over $100. Before you replace it, you might try sending some WD-40 down between the outer jacket and the hardware and working it back and forth a bit.

 

[glen_dc]

what's WD-40?

and the second stupid question - if I remove the cable, can the first mate switch gear manually (maybe with winch or players)? Ultimately the whole purpose of transmission cable is to move that handle on A-4.

 

[Jarod]

You can shift the lever manually by hand, but i woudnt have my wife do it while the engine is running. There is an alternator belt right there and shirt sleeves hair could get caught in it. I would do it myself but wouldnt let anyone else do it unless they were familiar with the motor. If you need to use the boat while the cable is getting worked on...just stick the transmission in forward prior to starting and idle it at low rpm so it isnt pushing much...my A4 will start in forward just fine.

 

[u079721]

I agree--it's a pretty straightforward job. On my Ericson 32 it attaches with a cotter pin on the engine and shifter sides. There's an eyestrap holding it down on each side, keeping the lead fair, that has to be taken off. Then the cable just pulls out. I'd suggest taking a picture of the installation before you pull it out to avoid future bad spaghetti.

A new cable is going to be well over $100. Before you replace it, you might try sending some WD-40 down between the outer jacket and the hardware and working it back and forth a bit.

I've never worked on an A4, but the Morse Teleflex Extreme control cables that I bought to replace the throttle and gear cable on my 38 were only about $25 to $30 each. It would certainly be over $100 to pay someone to do it, but the part won't be that much.

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Glen,

I had the same problem with our shifter. You almost needed to use both hands on it to shift. The first thing I did was to disingage the cable from the lever at the trans to make sure the trans wasn't binding or doing something weird.

Our local marina told me to remove the cable and they would send it off for a duplicate to be made. However, they said to check for any kinks or damaged areas on the cable first and if it looked good, then to open up the binacle to gain axcess to the top end of the cable and spray some penetrating oil into the cable. Work the shifter back and forth, spray some more and work it again a few times.

Glen, this was over two years ago. The shifter has been smooth and easy to operate ever since. Of course, the right thing to do was to replace it with a new one. But what the heck, it is fine. One of the rare cases where I was able to save some $$$ and posible brain damage with the remove and replace project.

Make sure that you check the operation of the lever action at the trans and look for any wear issues on the cable. Good Luck!

 

[ChrisS]

Boeshield

Try using Boeshield to loosen up the cable within the housing. It helped with mine. Just spray some inside the top connection of the housing, within the binnacle, while working the lever back and forth. It's flammable, so mop up the extra spray and get the fumes out before you start the engine.

And Jarod is right--use care around a running engine. I would only shift the lever like that in an emergency.

 

[Emerald]

Hi,

my recollection of replacing the shift cable on an A4 a few years back is that they are one of the heaviest duty cables made by morse/teleflex, and it was a hair over $100. Make sure you get one that is correct. They need to be very strong, as the reverse on the A4 requires a fair amount of tension on the cable - remember the A4 transmission doesn't lock in reverse, you have to hold it in. That leads to the other thought, which is do it right and get a good cable on for safety - don't shift it manually. Too much danger of having the person shifting getting hurt as already mentioned, plus you need to have immediate control of your engine at the helm, and you loose that if you aren't setup properly/manually shifting. Don't want to sound like your mother, but..... don't do it, replace the cable, it's not that hard or expensive

 

[tenders]

What's WD-40?

Are you freaking kidding me?

Do you really have a boat, or are you just posing?

I didn't know people like you still existed in civilization, never mind the greater Chesapeake area. (Or is there a "Chesapeake" in Siberia? Doubt it.) If you were to take a canoe down the Amazon river, I guarantee you would see more WD-40 logos than Ericson logos.

So let me answer this unbelievable question with some more questions:

1. When a doorhinge in your house squeaks, what do you put on it?

2. When your kid scribbles all over the walls with a crayon, how you get it off?

3. When some half-buttocked repair of yours ends up getting old duct tape residue all over a boat, house, or car part, what solvent do you use to remove it?

4. Three weeks after you drop a Vice-Grips into the salty bilge, what do you spray your rusty tool with to make it work again when you're too lazy to dig up the proper socket to dismantle something?

5. When there is a weird-looking bug on the sidewalk that you want to do some important scientific testing on, what interesting-smelling aerosol do you ignite with a match to convey the flame of a thousand suns to the unsuspecting and hapless insect?

"WD-40" is the only answer to ALL FIVE QUESTIONS. WD-40 is in fact the below-optimal, "git-er-done" solution for THOUSANDS of household, nautical, and scientific problems.

http://www.wd40.com/Brands/wd40.cfm

I suppose you don't know anything about Marvel Mystery Oil, either. That's excusable, until you've joined the discussion board on MoyerMarine.com. (All A4 owners will be on this board, eventually.)

 

[Emerald]

water displacement formula 40 - used on missiles at first

 

[tenders]

One more thing - yeah, if you want to do it "right" with a high-quality, long-term, space-age lubricant that will probably never have to be applied again, go ahead and take 10 minutes the next time you're at West Marine and pick up some Boeshield.

But if you want to take some sort of action, any sort at all, as soon as possible after you take off the cable so that you can just get going with the rest of your life, then WD-40 is the way to go. Think about how much easier it will be to reapply again in a few years after you've already taken everything apart once. Plus, it smells funkier than Boeshield anyway.

Ditto Emerald - you can use cheap cable ($10, although it's better to spend more on a vinyl-covered one) on the choke, and a pretty cheap cable ($35 as I recall) on the throttle, but there's something about the A4 transmission cable that requires bigger cabling and is thus more expensive. Maybe the leverage on the transmission arm is low so it requires more force? Or maybe it's high, so it requires more throw in the cable?

 

[Emerald]

my experience with the A4 is a combination of throw and force. Some of it varies tranny to tranny, and not the type in a dress.... but either way, a good strong cable that doesn't stretch/break will save the hassle of having to do it again, after all, the first one lasted how many years?

Thinking of the lovely smell of WD-40, some out there might enjoy a motto shared with some of my team mates many years back - get happy with Hoppe's - if you shoot, you'll understand. Both WD and Hoppe's bring back some nice memories

 

[tenders]

> Some of it varies tranny to tranny, and not the type in a dress

wakka wakka wakka!

I once heard about a San Francisco-based A4 mechanic who used to show up wearing a...

naaah, I haven't.

 

[glen_dc]

thanks for your help

fixed the cable. You all are very supportive!

 

[Emerald]

Good job. Wasn't too bad, eh?

 

[ChrisS]

Did you replace the cable or lube it? If you replaced it, I'd be interested to know where you got the part--Moyer doesn't list any on his site.

 

[glen_dc]

I installed my extra cable

Chris

I had an extra cable and it happened to be in very good condition. So I swapped my cable with that extra one.

I bought my E-29 with a dead A-4 and a small outboard. After reading this forum and sailnet.com I decided to get a "new" Atomic 4 since a heavy boat like E-29 needs a real engine not 8.5 hp o/b. I was looking for a rebuilt A-4 all over the internet and seriously considered buying a A-4 from the Moyer marina ($4,500) but I came across a rundown boat with no sails but with working A-4 on the local craigslist. I bought it for $1,500, pulled the A-4 out and sold that boat for beer money. That's how I've got my A-4 along with the extra cable.

 

[Emerald]

You should be able to order the cable via anyone who sells Morse/Teleflex. I don't recall if their catalog had an A4 specific application listing, but regardless, there is a number stamped on the side of the cable that will ID it. Wipe the cable down with a rag and some WD-40 to clean it, and you should be able to read it.

 

[HGSail]

Glen,

I don't know why your machanic thinks it will be a difficult job. When I replaced mine last summer the hardest part was making a new bracket to mount on the engine side and that took me all of an hour to fabricate. the install was about 1-2 hours (because I'm not a small guy)

Pat
E29
'73
#224
Holy Guacamole