Loose Throttle lever and stiff Gear Shift lever

[Rick Berman]

Sounds like a country western song, doens't it!  On my 1987 Mk I, I have two separate problems.  My gear shift is stiff, meaning it doesn't smoothly move from R, to N, to F. It isn't horrible, just takes a little "push" to get it to go into the next gear.  The throttle, on the other hand, has alot of "play" in it and when I increase to anything past 1800 rpms, I have to use a bungy cord to keep it from falling back into a lesser rpm position.  Any thoughts on what to "loosen or tighten"?  Appreaciate it!  Rick

[Jim Hardesty]

Rick,
My guess on the gear shift is the cable needs lube or replaced.   On the throttle, I have a friction bolt at the bushing.  You need to remove the binnacle compass to get to it.
Jim

[SeaFever]

Rick,

It would be good to know if you have kind of always had these problems or something has changed recently.

In my experience the stiffness could be caused due to couple of reasons:

1. The cable is not long enough and is making a sharper turn at some point than it should. This can make the movement in the cable stiff. First you need to check if this is the case. If you can, remove the clevis pin connecting the clevis to the transmission but keep the cable in place if you can. Then move the handles at the pedestal to see if the cable is still stiff. If it is smooth you don't have issues with the cable but there is something to do with the TX. If it is stiff you have some issues with the cable since at no load (no TX connection) the lever should move easily. Also try and see if you can route the cable physically so that the loop it makes is a large as possible. That will help. Or, change the cable with a longer one to allow for a larger loop before terminating at the TX. It very seldom is the problem with a jammed cable but it can happen. In which case the remedy is a bit more work intensive as removing the cable from the pedestal assembly is a bear at best. Post a message with your findings and we can help you along.

2. I must say I don't clearly understand your throttle problem. Are you saying that the throttle is working just moves back to lower rpm just as it does in our car when we remove the foot from the pedal? Note that at the engine end of the throttle cable there is a spring inside the control plate where the throttle cable connects. Technically that spring is supposed to do just what you are describing is happening. If that is what you are saying is happening, but there is no play, i.e. nothing happening when you move the lever, then there is an easier fix. There is a screw that needs to be tightened on the inside of the engine control assembly (the assembly that is just beneath your compass an that holds the control handles). Please confirm the issue you are having and I can help you with the remedy. All it needs is tightening of the screw/bolt and you are done. This will require removal of the compass which is quite simple. I can help you with step by step instructions and perhaps some pictures. In the meantime I am attaching page 7 of the Edson instructions that will give you some idea about the issue you are having with the throttle.

Please post you findings and we can help you along. Regards.

[Ron Hill]

Mah asked a great question : new occurrence or an old ailment?  I'd guess that some liquid wench down the shifter cable wouldn't hurt after you checked the shifting at the transmission( cable disengaged).

On the throttle look in projects or posts as I sent in a picture of the 7/16" bolt head to tighten for more friction.   A thought

[Rick Berman]

thanks y'all.  I'll be down to investigate this weekend.  to answer your questions so far: 1) no, this is not new.  I bought the boat 3 1/2 years ago and have been dealing with both ever since.  2) the throttle play.  When I increase the RPMs by moving the throttle lever forward, it does not "stay" in the position.  it starts to slide backwards to a point equivalent to 1500 RPMs.  to keep it engaged at a higher level, I use a bungy cord wrapped around the lever.  I must remove the bungy cord in order to "power-down" back to idle.

hope that clarifies things.  more to come and thanks!  Ron, I'll check out your suggestion re:  7/16" bolt head to tighten for more friction

[SeaFever]

Rick,

So your throttle issue is as I had guessed and is easy to fix. It will need tightening of the friction bolt inside the engine control assembly as per the document I attached. I have a feeling Ron's suggestion is also the same. To do this you will need to remove the compass and tighten the screw as shown in the picture. You can actually check and tighten to reach the stiffness you want. If you tighten more the forward motion of the lever will also be affected. My recommendation is to tighten just enough that the throttle lever stays put when you move it forward. Let us know if you need more detailed instructions and we can help. However removing the compass is pretty straight forward. Just be careful removing the compass light. while removing my compass I dropped my light bulb into the pedestal and had to get a new light assembly. I would just take the light with the cables and tape them out of the way till you are ready to put it back.

You will need to investigate the clutch lever and let us know what you find. Accordingly we can advise.

Regards,

Mahendra

[SeaFever]

Rick,

The Edson Engine Control Assy install and maintenance instructions can be found at:

http://www.c34.org/wiki/images/8/86/EngineControl.pdf

The page I pasted above is page 7 of the same. This document is a good read. Fortunately for you, you are only adjusting the friction screw. Installing the cables is another thing...

Go ahead and check you clutch cable after detaching it from the Tx. You will be able to find whether it is a cable issue, routing issue, transmission issue, or something else. Given that it is a chronic issue, most likely your cable is either short(er) or not routed properly.

Cheers.

[Rick Berman]

thank you all for your help. It appears that the throttle creep was the friction screw.  Problem I have now is that the screw was fully engaged and I still didn't get enough "friction".  I'll need to investigate it a bit more to make sure I've got a long enough screw.  thanks!

[Ron Hill]

Rick : On your shifting problem :
Look and see if the shifting linkage on the transmission is in the bottom or the top hole of the transmission lever.  If the cable is in the bottom hole move it to the top hole for more leverage.  Also make sure that when someone at the wheel shifts in to a gear, that you (at the transmission) can hear it click into gear. 
If not you may need to lengthen the cable line.   A thought

[SeaFever]

Rick,

On the throttle side the bigger bolt with the hex head (if I remember correctly), is the friction screw. If the screw is all the way on and is not changing the friction, I have a feeling that the screw has broken through the teflon material and therefore is not pressing on the teflon which in turn is not pressing on the control lever shaft. You may be able to check this by removing the screw fully and looking in the hole. If the teflon is completely broken off you will see the SS shaft. If the teflon is intact, you will see white material. You may also be able to measure the depth and hence the length of the screw required. This in fact may explain your chronic problem.

The teflon inserts are available easily from Edson. Your local chandlery could order it from Edson.

Hope that helps. Lets us know what you find. Cheers.

[Rick Berman]

thanks Mah...i'll investigate!

[Ron Hill]

Rick : Go into projects on the "Throttle Friction" topic and look, I sent in a picture !!   
Maybe the 7/16" head bolt is too short or the old one has worn a grove in the throttle shaft?

If you have ever lubed things inside that head (under the compass, make sure non of the lube get on that throttle shaft or on the steering brake jaws.  (Wrote that up in the Mainsheet many years ago) 

[BillG]

Rick, I had a similar problem with the throttle several years ago, occurring  after the boat had been splashed from winter storage.  I was starting down the C&D canal and it really caused me to panic as I headed back into the dock.  It took 2 of us to figure out the problem which was that a water hose at the engine had been move slightly and would push against the throttle only after it reached 1800 to 2000 rpm.  It was something that was clearly NOT noticeable unless you were watching the engine  and  throttle as someone in the cockpit pushed  it up into the higher RPMs.  Hope your problem is as simple.