[AT] OT lubricating a cable

[Mike]

Thanks for the update John, I always appreciate it when members do 
updates to posted problems to let the rest of us know what works.

Regards,
Mike M

On 11/16/2014 11:40 AM, jtchall at nc.rr.com wrote:
> Thought I would update everyone on how my frozen cable turned out. Folks
> seemed to like the idea of using diesel fuel so I stayed with that. The best
> suggestion I got was to take the cable off and bend and flex it to break up
> the rust. The second best suggestion was to give the diesel time to work its
> way through the cable. To put it bluntly, the lower 1/3-1/2 of the cable was
> frozen into the position it had been in for the last 40 years. I found the
> protective rubber coating was broken for some reason on the cable in a few
> places which probably allowed water to get inside. This cable was about 8 ft
> long and around 5/8-3/4 in dia. It took a bit of effort to flex it enough to
> get it straight. To lubricate it I used diesel fuel under pressure. I took a
> short section of hose and clamped to the end of the cable with an adapter
> rigged up up on the other end to plug an air line in. I would pour in 2-3 oz
> of diesel and then hook up the air line, positioning the cable so the air
> line was at the highest point.  OK common sense time here, kill the power to
> your compressor so if something ruptures, your compressor doesn't run
> non-stop while an air hose whips all over the shop. Likewise think about
> what could happen if something ruptures and you blow flammable liquid
> everywhere. Your shop, your health, you take what precautions you deem
> necessary.
>
> I did this for a couple days on the most rusted end, then I switched to the
> other end. After about 4 days I decided to start forcing it to move, nothing
> to lose. It appeared diesel was seeping out the damaged areas of the rubber
> cover. I had to clamp vise grips to the metal sleeves on the cable so I
> could beat them with a hammer. It was very slow going but I got it to move
> some. Afterwards I hooked it back up to the air line to push more fuel
> through it. after a couple more days I could clamp it in the vise and using
> both hands push/pull by hand. I left it alone for a week and finally could
> move it with one hand. Meanwhile I unhooked the other shift cable to
> lubricate it. It was already working pretty good, after just 15 minutes I
> was pushing diesel through it with the air hose.
>
> In the mean time I did locate a good cable in a junkyard as well as someone
> who'll make a new one for 1/2 what Deere wants---they don't keep them in
> stock but have the print for it, the name of the place is Baum Hydraulics.
>
> Hooked it up yesterday and it is shifting with about 1/4 the effort it was
> taking.
>
> John
>
>
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