Transmission Shift Cables

L

LBDboater

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Joined
Nov 22, 2004
RO Number
15780
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127
Need some information again...

I think the transmission shift cable broke (of course, in the middle of docking and with the transmission in reverse.... had to kill the engine but that also messes up maneuvering mid-stream). This is on a 1966 Chris Craft, inboard, Paragon HJ-7 transmissions and Ford 427 motors. I want to be sure that this is a broken shift cable before investing time and money. The lever at the helm moves just as it was before, not floppy, not stiff. Down at the transmission, the cable appears to still be attached to the transmission. When moving the lever from forward to neutral and from neutral to reverse, the linkage moves on the transmission, but it will not go from reverse to neutral to forward. That sounds confusing as I type this.

I have somewhat eliminated an internal transmission issue, because if I move the linkage to neutral manually, then the transmission is in neutral and if I put the linkage in forward manually, then the transmission is in forward. So, does this sound like a broken shift cable? Why would it be able to move backwards but can't move the linkage forward?

As far as getting her back into our home slip, I was able to lock the transmission in forward, giving me port forward and port reverse and starboard forward when I fired the motor up. We've gotten pretty good at the whole one engine docking thing... I'm always happier when I know I'm docking on one motor and can plan accordingly... the whole losing a motor/transmission in the middle of a docking is not so nice.
 
Sounds to me like something is wrong in the shifter. Maybe the cable popped out of the locking tab. I'm thinking it can pull the cable but when it tries to push there is nothing holding it in place so the doesn't work and just creates slack at the shifter. If you can see the shifter/cable connection while you try to move it you may understand what I'm trying to say.

Let us know what you find, it may be helpful for others in the future!
 
Those cables have a solid wire core. It is most likely that the wire broke which will allow the cable to work in "push" only and not "pull". If you disconnect the moving part from the transmission linkage, you should be able to pull part of the core out. That would be the part up to the break.

You will need a new push-pull cable. Very rare to break this way but I have seen it happen.
 
Our initial assumption was what rbmitchell described, but that's why I was asking if I was missing a more simple issue. Before we go and pull the cable, we will make sure to check the transmission levers at the helm. They're a little tight getting to but not impossible. If anyone has any other support one way or the other and or any other ideas I'm open for suggestions. Any other components I should check that I've left out?

Took us a little by surprise as there has been ZERO forewarning up to this. We haven't had any sloppiness or tightness in the lever, no missing gears or anything like that.

I said earlier that when moving the boat back to her home slip, I had port forward/reverse and starboard forward, but in all honesty, I had starboard neutral and starboard reverse, just that as soon as I shift into starboard neutral I wouldn't have been able to get starboard forward, and as soon as I hit starboard reverse, I wouldn't have been able to hit starboard neutral or starboard forward again without someone down in the engine room manually changing the linkage for me (wasn't going to work when the incident happened). I thought this tidbit of information would better explain what was going on, as far as the linkage and the lever position.
 
I just reread the post I thought it was working in the other direction this being the case, the above explanation makes more sense.

The more I think about this I think I was right the first time wouldn't going from forward to neutral and the reverse be pulling the cable? on my shifters the cable attaches to the aft most part and pulling the the shifter down in an aft direction would be pulling the cable. I guess yours can be the reverse but it would seem odd to me. If I'm correct this may be a simple problem like the cable slipped for the locking tab. Worth taking a look.
 
Disconnect the cable from the starboard transmission. Take a pair of pliers and pull on the cable end. The cable may very well pull out, showing that you have a broken cable.

If the cable doesn't pull out, push and pull on it a couple of times and see if the helm lever works back and forth, from all the way forward to all the way back to reverse position. The total cable travel at the transmission is only about 4 or 5 inches.

The outer cable housing is fastened at the transmission with two small locking clips (and I have to assume that you have checked them). The helm control cable is held in place exactly the same way. I know the original helm controls on Chris Crafts of that era aren't that easy to access so you may have to look up under the helm to make sure that the those two clips holding the starboard cable haven't opened. If they have, you may get symptoms such as you have described.

If your cable is broken, don't change just that one, replace them all. If the cable clips have opened, snap them back in place and put a thin zip-tie over them both to hold them in place. That has always worked for me.
 
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