Engine Control Cable Alert!

[u079721]

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the control cable for the engine transmission on my 1989 E-38 snapped. I noticed that the cable went through a rather tight radius bend where it exited the binnacle, and suspected that might be the problem, but wasn't sure.

Well, now I know. Yesterday I spent a frustrating afternoon learning how to extract the cables from the binnacle, and let's just say that right now the Edson engineers are NOT my favorite people. Anyway, the cable did indeed snap right where it made the turn. What bothers me is that the cable has an 8" minimum bend radius, and it was mounted with a 3" 4" radius bend!

So, if any of you would care to learn from my misfortune, I would suggest you check your own cable installations. I have included a photo (I hope...) below of what mine looked like before. Note the metal strap that held the cables above the steering radial. I intend to replace the cables with a newer type that has a 4" bend radius. I also intend to fashion a bracket to allow me to run the cables below the radial so that the new cables don't have to make quite such a tight turn.

Anyway, draw a few curves on a card and hold it up to your control cables. If the bend looks as tight as mine I wouldn't trust it

 

[u079721]

Me again. Sorry about the size of the photo. Anybody care to tell me how I might have reduced the size before posting?

 

[Martin King]

Steve,
Yikes! Much too tight a bend. No wonder it broke. That
Morse cable likes generous bends.

If you have a graphics program such as photoshop,
you can easily change existing files or if you are scanning
artwork, there is usually a provision in the software for
size and resolution of the scan.

Martin