get rid of the teflon liner thats more than likely your problem most guy dont run them for just this reason.

I use all Aeromarine and Hughey cables and have never had any breakage issues with these. I have seen some cables starting to break, but always caught it during inspection, and to be quite honest in many years of doing this and setting up many boats, it's only happened 2-3 times. These cables will last a very long time if the setup is correct and maintenance is good.

Post some pictures of your setup so we can see and help point out problems if we can see some.

I would be looking at bends in the tube that are too steep or too close to the strut. Also would consider going with a non-lined stuffing tube as mentioned above. 5/16" K&S brass tubing is what most of us use, and you can make sleeves for it with 11/32".

Thx for all the replies so far. I am having problems getting my pictures off the camera and on to my computer (it's a long story). You mentioned bends to close to the strut about how far should the bend be from the strut? Also can I just pull out the teflon liner from my exsisting stuffing tube?
If the bend was to sharp would I see breakage before the bend (the boat side) or after the bend (strut side) I would think it would be before because of the friction point.

Bryansr1 wrote:
I'm not really sure if the breakage would be more on one side as opposed to the other, I never really had that problem...sorry I can't be of more help on that one. As for the bend close to the strut, that's always a bad thing. You should have at least 3-4 inches of straight tube going into the strut. Bends should be forward of that. Otherwise it puts a LOT of stress on the cable because the propshaft is solid and straight, plus the first 1 to 1.5 inches of flex is hard also due to welding. I never bend a tube close to the strut.

As for taking the liner out of the tube, if it isn't too damaged, it usually will pull out. The brass tubing in this case is 11/32". This CAN be used as stuffing tube, but usually we tend to use 5/16" to keep a more "snug" fit for the cable and prevent "slop" which can also lead to premature wear. It all depends on the length of the tube and the bends. Hope you can get the pictures uploaded. Would help a lot.

Thx for the advice, I will get the pictures posted ASAP.

the #1 reason for cable breakage is not leaving a 1/4" gap between the drive dog and the strut.

black talon........... That is an excellent tip that has been over looked on this entire thread!!! Yes a gap is a must for cable wind up under load!!

Rcer

yes that's a good point you have to have the 1/4" gap, I used to run the Teflon liner and was having problems that I thought were motor related, & that's when I removed the Teflon liner & it was a night & day difference! I wont ever use one again.

I run fairly short cables with the 5/16 brass tube, a mix of good quality grease and copper anti-seize. I use the square drive on the engines which allows for cable windup and still leave a small gap at the strut just in case! Yet I was still having breaking issues almost every run! The breaks were always at the soldered end and were due to heat exposure of the spring steel cable thus becoming brittle.:dash:
Then I came accross my little secret! I was looking around home and found a small tube of SELLEY'S 'Quick Fix' dishwasher safe super-glue, and thought why not? Cut a new cable and cleaned it well then glued it straight into the brass ferrul. I didnt even solder the end off!lol This stuff is more of a gel than standard super glue so it still has body to it when it dries out, it also dries quickly(I glued it in the morning and ran it that afternoon just to be safe) I have done 2 boats like this now and both have multiple runs with wave jumping etc. and we havent had a cable failure yet! Im not saying it wont happen, but the cables are lasting much longer so far!

:drinks:
Chad..

Thx for the information I didn't know that the drive dog to strut spacing was 1/4 inch, I have been setting mine to 1/16 inch. Here are the photos of my set up and most recent shaft breakage.