Lift cable out of position?

[Les Audouins]

Hi. I just got a 98 Eagle SO and reframing the back due to some rot. I’ve been taking a careful look at everything and noticed that the lift cable for the back left looks like it should be tucked into the metal bar bolted to the floor...but it’s not. Does this look right? Lift works fine. Occasionally, we hear a thud when cranking it up but everything seems fine otherwise. Take a look at the photo and let me know what you think!

[bankr63]

That doesn't look too far from normal. What I would be most concerned about is if there is actually a pulley on that corner. From the angle of the cable it looks like it is winding around the rivet for the pulley, but that the pulley itself is missing. It looks like the cable for the next corner has been replaced with a heavier gauge cable and does have pulley in place, but I would expect the two cables to look like they were pivoting on the same axis. The two pulleys could be offset as built however and everything is fine.

Perhaps you can get a camera angle looking under the gear from the position of black object at the top of the picture that will show if it is properly supported?

[Les Audouins]

Thanks for taking a look!! I want to make sure things are in order before putting the walls back up. I really hope the cable rubbing against the floor rod won’t cause it to break...

Here’s a couple more photos of the rear left lift system from different angles.

[bankr63]

So pulleys ARE offset, all looks good to me. From what I can see in the photos, there is no fraying of the cable, so I don't think it is rubbing. After 20 years of service you would probably expect to see some signs of wear if there was a problem. I would just inspect as much of the cable length as you can see to ensure that nothing is fraying.

Interestingly, you may have the correct alignment. There is another recent thread here of another vintage pup where the cable runs through the lift spring channel and is wearing through the channel itself.