UGH........New Control Cables

[Uncle Joe]

So....I thought my only project this spring was going to be installing a new aux fuel tank on my '82 Offshore. No such luck. While bleeding the hydraulic steering on Saturday my buddy (who is the brains of the operation when he is around) noticed a few things missing/broken on my outboard. All small stuff that I can do myself without much trouble ...until we closely examined my control cables. They need to be replaced.

All I can see is all kinds of trouble pulling the old ones out and snaking the new ones in...hang ups.....wiring getting messed up..etc...in my experience this kind of work never goes as expected with my Offshore. Replacing a 4ft fuel fill line once took me all day and a bunch of skinned knuckles. Not sure if I should pull new cables in while pulling the old out?.....pull a 1/4 line in while removing old? I have done a few Teleflexes in my day....I am not totally useless but.....

Has anybody done this on an old Offshore? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[DennisG01]

I didn't pull a control cable, but I did run a new 10g wire to the helm. It actually went quite smoothly. I was actually impressed with the chase tubes - many boats don't use those. Pull the new with the old or pull the old out and leave a string - either will work. Spraying the new one with a little silicone spray while you pull it through will help.

 

[SoLucky]

Unless you know or can accurately determine control cable length, it is best to pull the old and measure before acquiring new ones. You want to be as close as possible.

 

[seasick]

Tie a drag line (rope) to one end of a cable after you disconnect it. That way, you will have rope in place to pull the new cable. You can pull two ropes at the same time. Depending on how packed the rigging tube is, you may be able to pull both new cables at the same time. The motor side is simple but the helm side can be tricky since you need to open up the control box, Go slowly, pay attention and take pictures of the mechanisms as you disconnect the cables. There may be multiple options for what holes the pins go in.
With respect to length, look on the cable sheath. If you find a part number, the last digits are usually the length. The markings may be on the motor ends or the helm ends or not there at at all. If you can't find the numbers, you can estimate or to be more precise, pull the cables and measure as mentioned.
You may need to remove a panel or two under the helm. Depending on bends, access to the rigging tube ends and general cable clutter, you will have to decide what end to pull from.
One direction may be easier than the other. It can be a relatively simple job or a miserable one, sorry to say.

 

[Uncle Joe]

Unless you know or can accurately determine control cable length, it is best to pull the old and measure before acquiring new ones. You want to be as close as possible.

Thanks.....26 ft is posted on existing.

 

[Uncle Joe]

Tie a drag line (rope) to one end of a cable after you disconnect it. That way, you will have rope in place to pull the new cable. You can pull two ropes at the same time. Depending on how packed the rigging tube is, you may be able to pull both new cables at the same time. The motor side is simple but the helm side can be tricky since you need to open up the control box, Go slowly, pay attention and take pictures of the mechanisms as you disconnect the cables. There may be multiple options for what holes the pins go in.
With respect to length, look on the cable sheath. If you find a part number, the last digits are usually the length. The markings may be on the motor ends or the helm ends or not there at at all. If you can't find the numbers, you can estimate or to be more precise, pull the cables and measure as mentioned.
You may need to remove a panel or two under the helm. Depending on bends, access to the rigging tube ends and general cable clutter, you will have to decide what end to pull from.
One direction may be easier than the other. It can be a relatively simple job or a miserable one, sorry to say.

Thanks Seasick.....It is the helm end that concerns me. Pulling through that mess looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Hookup1]

I did both throttle and shift cables last year. Intimidating job but my local mechanic encouraged me to do it myself. It was easier than I thought.

First of all I used the cables to pull the new ones. I would not pull them out. The cables are marked on one end (no telling which end). Dissemble the binnacle, take lots of pictures, label things and remove it. Maybe the cable lengths are marked on that end. If not you have to pull one from the engine end. I pulled a new one to get the cable length and pulled it back in place. I made a tool to thread the cables together. You can ask Grady but they gave me bad info.

I did a lengthy post on this site. I’ll find it and add it to this one. Read this thru: https://www.greatgrady.com/threads/throttle-cables.31638/#post-208033

 

[Fishtales]

I had good luck pulling lines through the tubes in the past. Really depends on what you have running through them and how much space. Good advice here. You may want to contact GW cust service and see if they can offer any info on length or pulling the cables. Worth a shot. Good luck.

 

[SkunkBoat]

taped new one's to old ones ...pulled em...piece of cake

 

[seasick]

Years back I called Grady to get cable lengths for my hull and they gave me the spec. Problem was that it was incorrect. There was a production change in the placement of the rigging tubes at some point for that model and their parts data apparently hadn't been updated. Didn't find that out until I pulled the old cables to compare to the new. So my advice is to either confirm by being able to read the part number or pull an old cable and measure.
I can't stress enough the value of taking lots of pics as you disassemble the control. It looks easy to take things apart but when you go back to reinstall, you are going to say "hmm, was the cable pin in the first hole or the second? Was that spacer under the cable or on top of the cable? Did that electrical wire go under the cam , over it, or around it?)

 

[SoLucky]

Thanks Seasick.....It is the helm end that concerns me. Pulling through that mess looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

I agree... a lot of stuff going on there with wiring, drain tubes, hydraulic steering lines, etc. But, by clipping the existing zip ties and separating the wiring out of the way you should have sufficient room to work. While your boat is different than my 228, I know if I had to pull new control cables I would feed them in at the helm and pull them aft. So definitely plan things out as to which direction to pull is easier and recruit a patient helper to either gently pull or guide the cables. The actual pulling of cables through the rigging tubes should take no more than a few minutes with good planning. Since you are confident in the length (26') just use the old cables to pull the new ones. Generous use of duct tape wrapped tight around the cables with new ends about 1/2" from old (to make the turn into the rigging tubes) will do the trick. I recommend 3 layers of duct tape with each layer going 2" further up the cables than the previous one.

Toughest part, if you start at the helm will be making the initial turn into the rigging tube... once in, you are golden.

The other challenge will be feeding back into the outboard -- you may have to pull the battery cables and/or fuel line out first and then feed those back in after you get the cables through.

Good luck. If you were near me, I'd be happy to lend a hand...

 

[max366]

I installed new control cables on my 265 a few years ago and the trick to getting the new ones pulled through was to use a 10-32 connector nut to join the old with the new. The ends of the cables are a 10-32 threaded rod. The nut is small in "diameter" so it gets through the tight spaces. Connect at one end and start pulling and pushing!

 

[Hookup1]

Tape creates friction. 10-32 connector nut is my preferred way. If you do duct tape it just do the metal ends and try to keep diameter small. Pull from aft end and push from helm. Should not be a hard pull. If so something isn’t right.

 

[Uncle Joe]

I agree... a lot of stuff going on there with wiring, drain tubes, hydraulic steering lines, etc. But, by clipping the existing zip ties and separating the wiring out of the way you should have sufficient room to work. While your boat is different than my 228, I know if I had to pull new control cables I would feed them in at the helm and pull them aft. So definitely plan things out as to which direction to pull is easier and recruit a patient helper to either gently pull or guide the cables. The actual pulling of cables through the rigging tubes should take no more than a few minutes with good planning. Since you are confident in the length (26') just use the old cables to pull the new ones. Generous use of duct tape wrapped tight around the cables with new ends about 1/2" from old (to make the turn into the rigging tubes) will do the trick. I recommend 3 layers of duct tape with each layer going 2" further up the cables than the previous one.

Toughest part, if you start at the helm will be making the initial turn into the rigging tube... once in, you are golden.

The other challenge will be feeding back into the outboard -- you may have to pull the battery cables and/or fuel line out first and then feed those back in after you get the cables through.

Good luck. If you were near me, I'd be happy to lend a hand...

That is why I love this site....thanks for the offer brother!

 

[Uncle Joe]

I installed new control cables on my 265 a few years ago and the trick to getting the new ones pulled through was to use a 10-32 connector nut to join the old with the new. The ends of the cables are a 10-32 threaded rod. The nut is small in "diameter" so it gets through the tight spaces. Connect at one end and start pulling and pushing!

I am going to get a connector......and also plenty of tape just in case

 

[seasick]

On myotherboat, the cable ends at the helm were not threaded like the motor end, so connecting the new to old was not an option. In that case, the cables had to be pulled towards the motors since the other ends were also fatter and had the bushings pre-attached. Haven a 'pusher' person and a 'puller' person may also help a lot.

Regardless, even if you pull the new using the old, also pull a drag line (rope) and leave it in the boat. Some time down the road when you have to pull a new transducer cable you will thanks me for the advice.

 

[PointedRose]

If there ends up being a troublesome area that’s snagging the cable, I wonder if you could use a length of pvc tubing to help feed the cables through the tight area.

 

[Uncle Joe]

On myotherboat, the cable ends at the helm were not threaded like the motor end, so connecting the new to old was not an option. In that case, the cables had to be pulled towards the motors since the other ends were also fatter and had the bushings pre-attached. Haven a 'pusher' person and a 'puller' person may also help a lot.

Regardless, even if you pull the new using the old, also pull a drag line (rope) and leave it in the boat. Some time down the road when you have to pull a new transducer cable you will thanks me for the advice.

I got the connectors...and I have a 1/4 in nylon line and plenty of tape ready because the ends of the cables appear to be fixed. The boat is 1.5 hrs from home and I just discovered the problem on Sunday..didn't look too hard at the ends....so I won't know until the new cables arrive....although Boats.net seems to be in no hurry to ship them.

Good advice there Seasick....thanks.

 

[dogdoc]

A note of caution, when pulling new control cables in my old marlin it damaged the copper hydraulic lines that were original in the boat. caused a very messy situation in the bilge and pulling new flex lines

 

[efx]

I just pulled 4 cables on my islander. Zip tie the old cables to the new cables, then file down ends to smooth them out. Wrap in blue tape very well. Have one person pull as other person pushes. It’s a slow gentle process. Make sure all zip ties are off the old cables and that the move clean and with very little resistance. Do one at a time. Patience is the key.