OMC Cobra 3.0L Feels like clutch slips

[FuzzNY]

I have a 1988 Bayliner Capri OMC Cobra 3.0liter, put it on the water yesterday, and as the we went further up the lake, you could feel the boat almost skip. it wsan't the motor, its almost feels like the clutch cable isn't tight enough. seems like the further we went the worse it got. had to baby it back to dock.. i'm new at boating, could i get some direction into this problem? much appreciated!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: OMC Cobra 3.0L Feels like clutch slips

If it feels like a skip, it is probably your dog clutch. A bad or misadjusted cable can cause this to happen and, unfortunately, will ruin your dog clutch. I had an OMC like this that was fixed under warranty back in the days when OMC was in business and they had bad lower shift cables.

You should check the adjustment of your shift cable. More than likely the damage has been done already to the dog clutch though.

 

[FuzzNY]

Re: OMC Cobra 3.0L Feels like clutch slips

Thank you. its actually like a clunk. and as the the day wore on and the more we went, it got worse. it started to happen last year before we pulled it out of the water. so we changed the outdrive oil and motor oil. shakes the whole boat. hoping we don't have to replace gears!!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: OMC Cobra 3.0L Feels like clutch slips

Thank you. its actually like a clunk. and as the the day wore on and the more we went, it got worse. it started to happen last year before we pulled it out of the water. so we changed the outdrive oil and motor oil. shakes the whole boat. hoping we don't have to replace gears!!

Wow...if it started to happen last year, your dog clutch is history. Gear change is in your future!

 

[erbeerman]

Re: OMC Cobra 3.0L Feels like clutch slips

it is the clutch dog. i have a 3.0 omc that i bought of craigslist. i'll never make that mistake again. it started skipping like that the 2nd time we had it out on the water. i took it on vacation last week and on the second day it started doing it real bad. took it to a marina and they said it was the clutch dog and forward gear. they were from factory made at the wrong degree. the replacement parts are set at the correct degree so that problem will never happen again. you'll spend at least $500.00 in parts. i should have mine back next week and it's going to cost me about $1100.00 after labor. when the mechanic tore into it he found a bearing that was bad he's replacing it while it's apart. one thing that peeves me is when someone sells you something and tells you it's in perfect working condition when it's in fact not. the world would be a better place if people were just honest.

good luck.

 

[SeanT]

Re: OMC Cobra 3.0L Feels like clutch slips

If I read this page correctly, it wasn't the angle of the clutch dogs, it was a shift cable causing all these problems.

http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/index.html

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: OMC Cobra 3.0L Feels like clutch slips

If I read this page correctly, it wasn't the angle of the clutch dogs, it was a shift cable causing all these problems.

http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/index.html

It was the shift cable that was first the culprit.Then OMC found that a different gear teeth angle helped also and extended the life if the gears.

 

[SeanT]

Re: OMC Cobra 3.0L Feels like clutch slips

The author at that link has another version of that story, but I'm playing catch up and only learning this stuff, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Unfortunately, the five-degree clutch dogs did not solve the problem, and in the following year, OMC re-diagnosed the trouble as sticky shift cables. Cobra owners got another letter, inviting them to deliver their boats to an OMC dealer for a free redesigned cable. OMC would replace any cable that failed for free, and if a cable failure destoryed a gearset, OMC would replace the gearset too. The last time I checked (1997), a Cobra gearset was almost US$1000 (labor extra).
OMC finally ended this extended warranty in early 1994. I belive the redesigned cable has truly fixed the problem. Alas, many people in the marine business clearly rememberd the gearset troubles, and forgot (or never heard of) the subsequent cable recall and resolution. Many of these folks are "still around," and they have contributed to the Cobra's (undeserved) troubled reputation today.

I'm in the process of figuring out whether my own OMC has the replaced shift cable or not, so I may have a close encounter with this myself.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: OMC Cobra 3.0L Feels like clutch slips

Even if the cable was replaced at one time, you may still need a new one. They don't last forever.