[gav70]

I recently took over a small project 2000' P38. I have fixed most of the major issues and now trying to deal with some of other smaller annoying issues. The shifting on the P38 is a little stiff and I wanted to see if I could get it smoother. I disconnected the selector cable from the gearbox lever. The lever shifts smoothly when i do it by hand. With the cable disconnected, I tried shifting from inside the car and its still stiff which makes me think its the cable.

Is there an easy way to make the cable shift smoother or do I just have to have it replaced? I thought of pulling the cable out of the housing and dipping it in some lubricating oil and putting it back but it just doesn't want to come out.

Wanted to see if anyone had any better ideas.

 

[TheoR]

If you go to a motorcycle shop, you should be able to buy a set of tools used to force lubricant into the sleeve. It's a pretty common tool used to lubricate throttle cables and clutch cables on motorcycles.

 

[marty_nz]

I too have this... the shift is OK down to drive, but anything lower is stiff, and it's darn near impossible to get it into '1'

I tried lubricating the cable awhile ago, and it freed it up a little but but not much. I looked into the cost of replacing it and it was stupidly expensive as a new part - so my next move (when I get time) is to see if I have a spare shift mechanism and cable kicking about that I can clean/lube the cable up and then replace it..

I'll be keeping an eye on your progress

 

[Orangebean]

Might be worth trying one of these to lube cable:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warrior-M...tor-Oiler-Hydraulic-Cable-Tool-/141436631766?
Used to use back in my biking days. Work pretty well at forcing in oil.
If shift cable is nylon lined though (never had one apart) and the inner bowden cable is rusted, it chews into the nylon liner which breaks into chunks and jams it. Lubing cant fix that.

 

[Clive603]

That style of screw piston cable lubricator is very effective, albeit monstrously messy when it comes to tipping out the surplus oil, removing the cable and generally cleaning up afterwards. Especially if done on the bike or car. Before buying you need to check the sizes of the split compression grommet seals that go in the bottom to grip the cable so the oil goes down it rather than round it. The original design had 4 different sizes, one of which should fit the change cable, most of the modern copies I've seen only have one sized to sort of fit motorcycle throttle and brake cables. Material is rather soft so it has enough squidge to more or less seal on a range of cable sizes but its not indefinately oil proof. Few years down the line its a gooey mess. Need a good seal with a good grip or the cable will be pushed out. Oil all over the place & mucho naughty words. There are / have been some pretty ropey ones about. Not something to buy sight unseen unless you have verification that Brand X is a good one with seals that fit.

Mine is a second generation copy (MCE?) pushing 40 years old so the seals have died. Hafta to sort something more engineered before I need it again. Hate turning rubber!

I used to use EP90 oil on bike cables as it hung around in the cable well. Instructions said thin oil but that just runs out. If I ever do more I shall use Castrol Magna BD68, a slide-way & low speed bearing oil that really does hang around, as I always have a 5 litre bottle or two in the man cave for the lathes and mill. State-side I guess one of the Mobile Vactras would be an easier to find equivalent.

clive

 

[gav70]

Thank you all for your suggestions!

I tried lubricating it with some oil but the cable is slightly different. It seems to have fixed metal rods on both sides with a wire type of a material connecting in the middle. So its stiff on both sides for about 6-8" and flexible in the middle. The lubrication helped a little. I ended up finding a full shifter assembly with the cable for sale on eBay for $19. It was a no brainer... just got that and replaced the whole system. I'm back in business.

Cheers.