Difficult tach cable removal

[iamunique127]

The tach cable on my XS360 is frozen with rust, won't turn and I can't remove it from the head cover. I've Searched this forum and found some conflicting answers to "how do I remove my tach cable"-type of questions.

I've removed the screw securing the cable end and the end is totally stuck in the cover. Won't budge. I've read here that it should just pull out after removing the screw. I don't want to get too aggressive with it but I can't seem to break it loose with impact or wiggling. Maybe the rust has got it frozen in there but I'm just not sure.

This is what the parts book says it looks like:

so it makes sense that it should pull out with the lock-screw removed from the groove in the cable housing.

I also read that I need to remove the valve cover and undo the cir clip on the inside. This is what that looks like (#32-#36)

but it appears the cir clip holds the rest of the mechanism in place and is inside the oil seal #36

Can anyone offer some insight on this?

 

[xschris]

Like you said if you removed the screw on the side the cable should pull out. But if it's rusted on to the drive shaft You may have to pull off the rocker cover and remove the c-clip to slide the entire drive out. It's not very hard be it can still be a p.i.t.a I would try to soak the area with some pb power blaster or another good penetrating oil. Then hopefully you can just slide the cable out.

 

[iamunique127]

Wonderful. Exactly what I was looking for chris.
Thanks

 

[xschris]

You are welcome

 

[brenguy]

Like you said if you removed the screw on the side the cable should pull out. But if it's rusted on to the drive shaft You may have to pull off the rocker cover and remove the c-clip to slide the entire drive out. It's not very hard be it can still be a p.i.t.a I would try to soak the area with some pb power blaster or another good penetrating oil. Then hopefully you can just slide the cable out.

I have the exact same issue! However I didn't have the liberty of being able to take any screw out... my screw hole appears empty though I'm not sure if half the screw is just broken off? I was able to get off the c-clip (the little semi circle ring) but I'm not sure what to do next to remove the cable. The metal sheath won't budge at all! Also I tried drilling the hole briefly and it created some metal shavings.... I think a few flakes got inside the valve cover. Whoops! Should I just blast that with compressed air? There were very few almost unnoticeable amount but is that a major issue?

 

[xschris]

The c-clip is for removing the tach drive assembly. If you took that out your rocker box should be already removed. Post some pics of what you have. If your cable is still stuck in the housing and the screw that holds it in is gone you may have part of the screw broken off.

 

[brenguy]

The c-clip is for removing the tach drive assembly. If you took that out your rocker box should be already removed. Post some pics of what you have. If your cable is still stuck in the housing and the screw that holds it in is gone you may have part of the screw broken off.

 

[xschris]

I would say the bolt is broken off in there. The hole should be about 32mm long flush with the outside. The bolt used is 25mm long. I would measure and see what you have left in there. A screw extractor is your best option for getting it out.

 

[brenguy]

I would say the bolt is broken off in there. The hole should be about 32mm long flush with the outside. The bolt used is 25mm long. I would measure and see what you have left in there. A screw extractor is your best option for getting it out.

Damn the hole is over 30mm deep....... that sheath that sticks out is supposed to come out right? Maybe someone glued it in or something weird?

 

[xschris]

Hard to tell what has been done with it over the years. You could try and put the bolt back in and see if it threads in all the way. The old one could have been drilled but some still left behind. A bit of pressure from the back of the drive may help slide it out also. It almost looks like the hole for the screw is miss shape-in.

 

[brenguy]

Yeah also i found that the housing that sticks out seems to be soldered or welded to this washer looking piece... im going to mess with it tomorrow.

 

[xschris]

This is what the cable end looks like.