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Reverse Cable Replacement

tdonoughue

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Year
2012
Boat Model
AR
Boat Length
24
When we last left our hero (here: https://jetboaters.net/threads/yait-yet-another-impeller-thread.18785/#navigation), he had removed the pumps and cleaned up the impellers, but snapped off the end of the reverse gate cable when replacing the pump.

Just finished replacing the cable, so trying to do my boardly duty to leave a record. My son helped me; he worked on the back and I worked on the helm (mostly), so I have pics of just the helm part. Took the 2 of us about 2 or 2.5 hours. Not a difficult job, but lots of steps.

So, starting at the back, remove the white nut on the cable. Behind that is a washer and (inset into the next part) a big rubber grommet. Both those come off. The challenging bit is the remaining white piece. It is held into place by a black plastic nut inside the boat. If you remove just the tray, you can probably reach it. We removed the entire plate over the cleanout plugs, which made it much easier. That black plastic nut is encased in silicone. Scrape/cut all of that off that you can. Then one person should hold inside/outside and the other person should turn the other side. Once that is unscrewed, you will see a white disk on the cable. It is sitting in a groove in the cable. Use your fingernail to gently open it (you will see what I mean) and take it off.

To the helm:
You don't need to remove the upper inserts like I did:
IMG_20180811_140005.jpg
On the aft side of the throttles, at the bottom, is a plastic piece. Pry that out gently to reveal 2 Philips head screws:
IMG_20180811_140037.jpg
Remove those screws. Then lift the aft side of the cover (which will release the tabs on the forward part) and remove it.
IMG_20180811_140632.jpg
Note the 4 screws on the bottom edge of this single unit. Remove those. Then the whole assembly comes out:
IMG_20180811_141046.jpg
Do not take the throttle handles off (ask me how I know); it is not needed. Look for one screw at the bottom of the assembly and 2 (one one each side) holding the 2 halves together. The screw at the bottom has a nut inset on the other side. Be careful; as you unscrew, the nut will drop on the floor... The other two screws are immediately adjacent to the throttle handles, where they connect to the assembly (you can see the back side of one in this picture--not the big countersunk Philips head--just to the left of that in the picture). I took off the countersunk screw piece, but I don't think that is necessary.
IMG_20180811_141648.jpg
Another view; you can see where I took out the countersunk screws at the top/bottom of the photo. To the right of the bottom screw you can see the target screw hiding under the padding. With this view you can also see the bottom screw spot (removed here) to the far left.

Here I got bad with the pictures. Sorry. But once these are separated, you will see that there is a black plastic cover that has 2 pieces. Remove 2 Philips head screws on the larger, lower plastic cover to remove it, exposing the connection of the cable to the throttle system. The engine speed cable is on top; your reverse gate cable is on bottom. Be careful: there is a little rubber spacer between them. But they just slide out of the bottom of the assembly. Both are attached with a C spring clip. Yes, you can remove just the lower one and leave the upper one attached. Unscrew the end of the cable and screw it onto the new cable.

Go to the helm compartment and feed the new cable end to follow the lump of cables along the hull back to the side of the helm. Have a partner/son fish it up the hole for you. Reattach that to the throttle assembly with the clip. At this point I reassembled the throttle assembly so that I would not pull against anything. Meanwhile son worked on feeding the cable aft, following the route of the existing cable. Pull up the gas tank compartment and feed the cable through to the hole that goes to the engine compartment. This is sheathed through the engine and to the bilge compartment in the back, so it goes very easily. Pull the old cable out.

Then reassemble the back like it was. Put a bunch of silicone to annoy the next person who takes it apart. Or maybe to seal it from water. But the first reason sounds like more fun.

When you thread the fitting on the end of the cable, note on the other side how far up the threads to go, approximately. When you reattach the bucket, you can make final adjustments. When you are happy that the two sides are even, lock the fitting by backing the little nut that came with the cable against it.

That's it.
 

tdonoughue

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Oh, should have tagged @swatski who said he would be interested...
 

swatski

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Oh, should have tagged @swatski who said he would be interested...
Fantastic post, thank you!
Did you pull the new cable through - attached to the old cable? Did you need to open up the fuel hatch/cover?
Also - this is just the reverse, right, left the steering cable for another time.

@Administrative I would consider as a perfect entry to the FAQ section!

--
 

tdonoughue

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Location
The Woodlands, TX 77381
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Yamaha
Year
2012
Boat Model
AR
Boat Length
24
Oh, it may need more pics to make the FAQ, but thank you. I am flattered.

I thought I might need to do something like attach the one to the other and pull them through. But the cables are relatively stiff (about the same as a fiberglass wire puller). I just fed the new one directly through next to where the old one was. None of the passages are so narrow that they could not fit together. Yes, pull the cover off the gas tank. I ran from behind the helm to the throttles, then from behind the helm with the other side to the fuel tank. Then from the fuel tank into the hole to the engine compartment, which spills out just by the hull in the back. Really very easy for that part.
 

Britboater

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Thanks for sharing, my first job when I return to my boat in October. I noticed my starboard shifting cable stiff last year, I lived with it for a while but in May it’s was almost unusable, I’ve purchased the new cable so with your info I should be able to complete the job fairly easy.
 
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