Bad Shift Cable???

[Jason Adam]

I fired up the boat(99' Seaswirl Striper 2600/VP 5.0 DPS) for the first time this year last night. Big bummer when the boat didnt want to shift into forward. The boat would shift into reverse fine. When going from neutral to forward, the movment of the trottle control at the helm was very stiff, and when I reached where I should of been in gear, it would actually shift into gear, maybe 20% of the time. The rest, it would shift in as I "gave it more throttle". I took the cover off my lower where the shift cable adjustment is. It looked like the shift cable grew about 1/4 inch over the winter. I unhooked it completley from the lower unit and tried moving it and same result. Sticky going into forward. Two marine mechanics said shift cable went bad over winter(common, they say)(someone please explain how this happens???) Anyway, I pulled the shift cable out. It does seem sticky in the sleeve. I will get a new one today. Everything else(controls at the helm and all the moving parts on the lower) move fine now without the cable in. Does it sound like this is the problem, and is this "common"??? how does a cable "grow"???

[lakensea]

Did you store the boat with the drive up all the way? If so, that would damage the shift cable.

[NightFisher]

It probably didn’t “grow” over the winter, it probably seized up somewhere in the sleeve. It grew when you started trying to use it. When it didn’t move, you applied more pressure and ended up stretching the center wire or compressing the outer jacket. Before you install the new cable, make sure all of the linkage moves ok. If you bind is somewhere in your linkage you may stretch your new cable.

[Jason Adam]

The motor was not started in the up position.

When you say "linkage", I'm not 100% clear what your refering to. My shift cable attached directly to the back of my helm control, and runs down the starboard gunnel and into a bigger rubber tube right behind the engine and through the transom, and the actual shift cable end is attached at the back of the lower unit. The only other moving parts are the actual shift arm on the back of the lower, and that moves freely. I will try the new cable today and hope that fixes it. Still curious why that would sieze up over the winter(Michigan winter(-0 degrees)If that matters).

[NightFisher]

The shift arm on your motor was what I was referring to a linkage.

[strikerthree]

this happened to my neighbor he has a 1999 24ft bayliner trophy with the same set up you have his mechanic told him after he replaced it next season to totally disconnect it and remove the outdrive he left his out drive on one winter tilted up and it froze just the way you are describing