I’m wondering if there is advice anyone is willing to offer on replacing a transmission shift cable. The process seems straightforward, but advice is welcome. Our Nonsuch, Shamrock, is Hull number 40 We bought her six months ago and have been refitting her ever since. There is considerable resistance while shifting between gears Having serviced the Edison binnacle we are left with the shift cable as the source of the problem. The boat was re-powered with a Volvo Penta.D2-40F and
Volvo Penta MS 2V 840768 2.37 transmission. Thanks for any insights you can offer.Bob
I do have some experience with this task. The shifter on my 30C (powered by Westerbeke 27) parted as I was approaching a fuel dock this spring during a transit up the ICW. It was a straight forward fix except for two complications:
First, I couldn’t find a vendor with a precise match for the cable length without waiting several days so I went with a longer cable and that was ok; and
Second, and more of a problem, I couldn’t, even with the help of a local boat mechanic get the top end of the cable up through the Edison pedestal. There just wasn’t enough clearance without completely stripping the pedestal. Instead, we ended up cutting an access hole in the pedestal for access to attach the cable to the shifter and then closing it off with a newly manufactured cover.
There may have been an easier way but we were unfortunately on a schedule that only allowed a couple of days delay. The shifter has been working since without any further complications.
Before replacing the cable, I recommend manually shifting at the transmission to ensure that the problem is with the cable and not the transmission itself.
Thanks so much, Phil. Your experience is very helpful. I have been wondering how to make the cable-Edison connection. I will give more attention to the sequence of steps base on your experience. Happily we are at the dock and have time.