Replacing control cables- 265 Express

max366

GreatGrady Captain
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I'm going to replace both sets of my control cables on my 2004 265 Express. The port engine won't shift out of forward gear but with the end of the cable disconnected at the engine end, I can moved the engine linkage and shift gears, so it's a cable issue, likely at the binnacle. The cables are 13 yrs old and are overdue.
I ordered new Xtreme Teleflex cables (24 ft port, 22 ft stbd- info provided almost instantly by the fantastic Grady customer service!) and I was checking out the cable routing on the boat today and it looks like a tough job, especially the port side. One suggestion someone made is to connect the ends of the old & new cables together using a 10-32 coupling nut and pull the new from the engine to the helm. Sounds like a good idea.

Has anyone done this replacement and if so, offer any tips to simplify the project?
Can the binnacle be pulled out and inspected without disconnecting the cables at the engine end to get some slack? I"d like to ascertain what's causing the shifting issue I'm experiencing to make sure it's actually a cable issue so I need to pull the binnacle to open it up.

Any tips will be greatly appreciated!