Help with the shift cable

[WestIslandJohnny]

Hello, The shift cable on my O'Day 27 is broken in the pedestal just where the adjusting screw attaches to the cable end. Has anyone out there replaced theirs on this vessel? I'm assuming it can't be repaired, so wanted to know if they are available anywhere? Doesn't look like a fun job, but I figured while the saildrive is out, I should do this too.

Thanks,

John

 

[jibes138]

I am in the process of replacing mine. You can get the instructions on the Edson website. The cables need to be measured for length so I took some string measured the height of the pedestal then attached string with painters tape along the length of cable and then measured the length of the string. Cables come in 1 foot increments. You can buy them at Edson or any marine retailer like WM, Defender or maybe SBO. They are very inexpensive (less than 40 bucks) but looks like a lot of labor for installation.

See the attached file from Edson with the instructions.

 

[WestIslandJohnny]

Thanks so much for the info Dave. I looked around on the Edson site but didn't see that document. It'll definitely come in handy. My cables go underneath the gas tank and then disappear behind a bulkhead. Not sure what I'm in for yet, but hopefully I can do this without removing the tank and everything - doesn't look promising for that, but at least I can hope. So far, my biggest hurdle has been in trying to remove the screws holding the plastic compass mount housing to the pedestal. They must be oxidized in place...

I hope your cable replacement goes smoothly!

Thanks Again,

John

 

[RubyJean]

cable

You just might be able to tape the new cable to the old one and carefully pull it through into the pedestal, worth a try. I do this with mine, but I don't have a pedestal......Michael..

 

[jibes138]

So far, my biggest hurdle has been in trying to remove the screws holding the plastic compass mount housing to the pedestal. They must be oxidized in place...

John[/quote]

I read of one guy using a dremel type tool to grind off the screw head, then the housing will come off and you can grab the shank of the screw with vice grips to turn them. If that doesn't work might require drilling and tapping. They sell something called never seize at auto stores so if you get them out coat the new screws with something like that to help prevent removal trouble the next time.

 

[jibes138]

John,
Were you able to get the bolts out? I took mine apart and couldn't get a single one of the screws to come out. They are slotted head screws and I even went so far as to put a pair of pliers on the blade of the screwdriver for added torque but couldn't even budge a single screw. I am going to have to cut off the heads but don't have any confidence that I will get the studs that remain out without drilling and tapping.

If you were successful I'd love to hear what you did. Worse case is get a new pedestal, I found two of them on Ebay used but will try to salvage mine before going down that path. Must be lots of others with this same issue that was solved in the past. Perhaps heat on the pedestal will expand the aluminum enough to break the studs loose? I notice on the Edson web site they recommend using "never seize" on the screws when installing them so it sounds like a lot of others have had this problem and complained about it.