Boat worked great Sat.

Went out Sunday, shifted from rev to fwd, SB drive just went "clickclickclickclickclickclick"
There was no clunk or funny sounds prior to this.
It worked fine the day before.

When it wouldn't go into fwd,
It would go into rev no problem.

After a few tries it went into fwd, I got it back to the dock, and it shifted ok once while docking, and then (second later) wouldn't hit fwd again.


Anybody been down this road. Liberator21?

Curious if adjustment could be involved, or if I am screwed.

make sure the shift cable is traveling enough to engage correctly
could just be adjustment fix

I have a COBRA on my kids boat. Get a manual and go through the adjustment procedures. You can slightly mis-adjust the cable so forward catches more than reverse, see a competent mechanic for this who is experienced if you need help in that area. Check that the Shift Assist Module is working. when you depress the micro switch the engine should stumble, this allows the gears a chance to engage without as much power to them. The ground for the assist module often is a little flaky. Does this boat have the updated COBRA shift cable?

Just make sure you've got the updated shift cable, and that you are getting full travel of the shift cable when you shift into forward. Have someone watch the bellcrank up by the intake manifold to make sure the cable is actually moving the drive into forward gear. This way you verify that something in the control box didn't break. It almost sounds to me like a control box or cable problem. Verify that stuff first, then you can dive deeper if you need to (Hope not). If you need the cable adjustment procedure, I could probably scan the paper I have and send it to you.

This boat has the upgrade/warranty shift cable on the port side for sure, it was done this year (red jacket) when I had the motor out to replace the coupler. (This is not the side with problem.)
But this is a good point.

I don't think that the SB has the newer cable. I will check.

The ESA works fine on both sides. Kills every other cylinder or so.

I have the book, so I will go through the adjustment procedure.

Thanks for the posts guys. I was fearing the worst and thinking about pulling it.
I guess I should chill until I check the adjustment.

At least I have some new hope. I've dropped too much on these OMC setups this year already. Didn't want to do a drive.

I've considered swapping the Cobras out for Volvo SX drives, because they fit the same transom assy, but the overall (low)value of the boat won't support it.

Hey thanks Lib.


I was hoping that you'd catch this post. I figured that you might have a guess just from the sound/symptoms alone.

Thanks.

I owned a boat with a Cobra for six years. I had several different mechanics work on it and countless hours of work myself. I never did fully resolve my shift issues. I would get it perfectly adjusted, it would work great for a while and then start acting up again. Good luck.

Ok guys,

I checked out the book. (Actual OMC shop book.) It looks like they want me to leave the trunnion on the engine bracket alone and do the adjustment, but use the adjustment at the 90 degree lever on the outside rear of the bellhousing.


Did you guys remove the drive to adjust?

I would recommend using the adjustment procedure that comes with the replacement cable kit. If it's an original manual, the procedure might be different than the one outlined in the kit. The first thing you have to do is completely disconnect the cable from both ends. Then, you have to use a spring scale to determine how many pounds of pull it takes to cause the cable to move a few inches (don't remember the exact amount). The manual says it's not to exceed 4 lbs pull. Mine was almost 5lbs with a new cable. After that's verified, then you do the actual adjustment procedure. I've had my boat six years without any shifting problems. Like I said though, make sure your control box and cable are ok.

if the boat is used or has been used in salt water there is a drain hole on the starboard side of the bell housing the drive bolts to. on the inside area behind this drain plug is the bell crank for the shifting mechanism. if there is any water entering this area corrosion buildup can impede shifting suddenly when it fully compacts the debris under the arm.

many times if this condition is picked up before the cable is stretched, just remove the drive clean out the area, lube but don't over do it. reassemble and off you go.