Throttle and steering cable service life

[frogman112]

I have a 2004 GTX with about 145 hours on it. Never been used in salt water.

As a rule of thumb, when can I expect to have to replace the throttle or steering cables? The throttle cable has a slight kink in it that can be seen when I open the throttle. Both the throttle cable and the steering cables seem to be working smooth with no binding.

I noticed that some of the used PWC's for sale through dealers had replaced the cables. Is this just done to minimize the chances of a customer return or do they wear out / fatigue after 150 hours or so?

 

[LouDoo]

If you're riding in fresh water and with proper maintenance they should last the life of the ski.

Lou

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I agree, they generally should last a very long time but if there's sand in the environment, your water is particularly turbid, or you store the craft in the water then you will notice some binding earlier on.

Basically, if the controls are sufficiently smooth then they don't need replacing immediately. I will also say, nothing works as smoothly as a new cable, and trying to lubricate worn cables doesn't normally work very well.

If a customer brings his boat to me complaining of a stiff cable, I don't bother trying to lubricate it unless it's no longer available and that's a rare case. He gets a new high quality Teleflex or OEM cable.