Visit our Popular Forums

Franziska · 24-11-2023, 10:00

Hi,

we are currently in Tunisia doing a refit.
Most spares are extremely hard to get and the bowden cables from the helm to the outboard are still working. So we do not want to replace them at this stage.

But, as the engines are off right now, we would love to do some TLC to them. All cables are between 3 and 4m long.

What is the best method to grease or oil them well over the complete stretch? Should we use oil or anything else.

Some of the cables are blue and might have Teflon conduits while others are black outside.

What has worked for you?

Thanks for thoughts and recommendations.

**skipperpete** · 24-11-2023, 11:57

I deal with stiff control cables fairly often and once had a motor cruiser with 40’ Morse cables, 4 cables to each engine, 5 including the manual emergency shutdown so I needed to keep em in perfect condition. I have had good results from detaching the cable from the shift control then sliding a 24” length of fuel hose over the Morse Cable as far as the stainless steel collar on the standing part of it ( the bit with the groove)and secure it with a hose clamp then elevate and fill the hose with whatever oil you have, I use ATF but you could use one of the Teflon containing lubes. You now have the option of waiting for gravity to get the oil through to the speed control or transmission.... often a full day.... or put a bit of pressure into the oil filled fuel hose with a bicycle pump to speed up the migration. Make sure you move the sealing rubber boots out of position and completely remove the top ones, also put a container or absorbent cloth under the engine end of the cables. It helps to move the cable back and forth at the engine room end if you’re in a hurry.

Franziska · 24-11-2023, 12:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipperpete

I deal with stiff control cables fairly often and once had a motor cruiser with 40’ Morse cables, 4 cables to each engine, 5 including the manual emergency shutdown so I needed to keep em in perfect condition. I have had good results from detaching the cable from the shift control then sliding a 24” length of fuel hose over the Morse Cable as far as the stainless steel collar on the standing part of it ( the bit with the groove)and secure it with a hose clamp then elevate and fill the hose with whatever oil you have, I use ATF but you could use one of the Teflon containing lubes. You now have the option of waiting for gravity to get the oil through to the speed control or transmission.... often a full day.... or put a bit of pressure into the oil filled fuel hose with a bicycle pump to speed up the migration. Make sure you move the sealing rubber boots out of position and completely remove the top ones, also put a container or absorbent cloth under the engine end of the cables. It helps to move the cable back and forth at the engine room end if you’re in a hurry.

Thank so much for your very thorough reply. We'll try that method.

catsketcher · 24-11-2023, 14:28

Being an Aussie (who loves Dangar Island) I love Dangar Stu's videos. Here he lubricates Morse Cables

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j2xD_8k5yo&t=252s

**skipperpete** · 24-11-2023, 14:46

Great video..... small world, the engineer on the Hawksbury that he mentioned could easily be me or perhaps one of my apprentices. We had a fleet of hire motor cruisers , 60 originally but it dwindled as the boats wore out and were removed from the fleet by the owners ( buy a boat buy a business was the motto) crashes from stuck cables was a fairly regular event so the cable lube technique evolved, not completely successful but we also got very adept at fitting new cables, 5 minutes from go to whoa, we used a threaded coupler and just hauled the new one through with the old.

Franziska · 24-11-2023, 22:01

Thanks guys. Very helpful.

Mickeyrouse · 25-11-2023, 05:13

I would recommend removing the cables if that isn’t an onerous task. Overtime grease will work better. Apply grease liberally to the rod on each end. If you can gently warm (hot tap water temp- you don’t want to damage the plastic jacket) the cables, so much the better. Work the cable its full range several times. This will eventually spreading the grease the length of the cable. The minimum number of times this will require is the length of the cable divided by the length of the exposed rod. Since each stroke will carry progressively less lubricant, I would double that result by 2(strictly an arbitrary number.)
If cable removal is out of the question, grease the ends in place. Working the cables places extra strain and wear on the gear, but you may not have much choice there. The good news is that once you grease the cables either way, the grease will eventually travel the length of the cable through use. Depending on cable length and frequency of use, that may take some time.