How to Stop Push-Pull cable corrosion

[geoffr]

I"m currently replacing the outdrive locking (down) cable as the old one is rusting out. As I'm doing this I'm wondering if anyone has some advice on how to stop the salt water intrusion which killed the old one (or at least slow it down).

I'm using this cable:
Teleflex / SeaStar Flexible Push-Pull Utility Cable

Here is an overview:


Here is the cable a number of years ago (before it got really bad):


And finally the probably location:

[UNCIVILIZED]

The standard setup for throttle & shifter contols on many boats is Morse Cables, which run inside of jackets that are filled with waterproof grease. They tend to last for decades. Perhaps the "cables" being solid stock vs. wire helps. But I'm certain that the grease does. And they're used both on outboards, as well as inboard, including diesels.

[geoffr]

Yes at a minimum I was going to grease the heck out of it.

Ps. Will fix photos later...

[hellosailor]

+1 on stuffing the cable with grease. And as part of your normal maintenance, make sure to keep adding more grease.

[minaret]

No, no, no! Teleflex specifically states that you should never lubricate a control cable, as do other manufacturers. With anything!

The newer cables are Teflon lined and last much longer than the old ones. Just get a new cable and install it. And remember to never ever lube a control cable!

[bailsout]

Can you use rope instead? I replaced my forward /
reverse cable with rope and some guiding blocks. The original Hereshoff design employed this system. I love it. Low maintenance, low cost.

[Cadence]

Use silicon grease. JMHO

[hellosailor]

Rope and blocks sounds like what we used to call a "bell cable", a t-shaped piece of stock on a pivot point, with two cables running to the opposite sides of the "T". That's the type of control you'd also see in aircraft with mechanical push-pull controls.

The teleflex aka bicycle brake cable has the advantage of taking up much less space, and bot being affected as easily by someone/thing bumping against it.

[hellosailor]

"The newer cables are Teflon lined ... And remember to never ever lube a control cable!"

I suspect the "never lube" instructions refer only to the new teflon lined cables, because the older ones sure do like to rust up and bind if they're never lubed.

[a64pilot]

I think a teleflex is a steel ribbon, and as such is a push / pull cable.
Actual cables like a bicycle cable for instance can only pull, hard to push a rope.
Trivia but engine control cables on a Thrush aircraft are boat control cables, the ones we used on a Garret powered Thrush had zerk grease fittings on the cable and of course were supposed to be greased, the ones we use on Pratt and GE engines are teflon lined and have no grease fitting. So if your cables have grease fitting, grease them.
Sorry my marina Wifi won't support pictures so I didn't see any.

[geoffr]

Here are the photos (which didn't show up in my original post )

[geoffr]

So I get to the boat today after installing the cable last week... and just the rain has caused rust to start!

I'll talk to Teleflex.. but looks like I need to get the grease out ASAP!

[minaret]

So much wrong with that installation I don't know where to begin. Where's the end fittings? Looks like someone cut the cable to a custom length, and just chopped off the end fitting. End fixity will be super poor this way. And how in the hell is it getting rained on? Doesn't make sense...

That's also clearly an old style cable. No Teflon lining on the center cable. They haven't made new cable like that in over a decade. Where did it come from?

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by minaret

Looks like someone cut the cable to a custom length, and just chopped off the end fitting.

Agree with Minaret on this one. You should be able to order a cable the proper length with end fittings in place, including a seal to keep the good inside and the bad outside!

[barnakiel]

The challenge here is that someone is trying to sell us a 75 USD piece of crap made in China for 1 dollar maybe.

We have an equivalent 30 years old cable from Volvo that DOES NOT corrode.

These cables do not like lubrication nor oils/grease. Water gets trapped in small pockets along the way and gives trouble.

Solution A: Go to your local boat scrapyard and remove an old cable from any derelict boat that looks 30 years old and never maintained. The cable will be pristine though.

Solution B: Seek very old stock.

Solution C: Pay thru the nose, repeat next year.

We are all paying for our greed, exporting jobs and manufacturing to odd countries and abandonment of quality in the name of quantity.

b.