1978 Mercury 800 Controls, Cables, Throttle, Idle

[Chris Carter]

Hello to the forum. Thanks in advance to any and all help. So, here goes...

My buddy just bought a 1970's 1980's model Glass Master with a 1978 Mercury 800 80 HP outboard. After 2 weekends of waiting for parts and finally getting it running, we put it in the lake and found that that when the throttle handle is pushed forward, we are getting very little movement in the throttle linkage at the engine. My question is, is this something that just needs adjusting? the "barrel" on the throttle rod linkage moves approximately 1/2 to 1 inch and then slides back to it's beginning position. Forgive me if this has been covered in another thread, I attempted searching for the discussion and either they were never fully answered or I didn't find quite the right discussion. Again, any and all help is much appreciated.

Respectfully,

Chris

 

[racerone]

On a single lever , the control first shifts to forward.------No movement of the throttle cable at first.------You do have cables hooked up correctly ??-----Any pictures or video ?

 

[Chris Carter]

Double lever. High Idle control lever and gear/throttle lever. We have not disconnected any cables at all. Took the remote control box apart, BUT, put it back together promptly just as it came apart. (No spare parts were left out of the control box... LOL!)

 

[Chris Carter]

On a single lever , the control first shifts to forward.------No movement of the throttle cable at first.------You do have cables hooked up correctly ??-----Any pictures or video ?

Stand by for pictures...

 

[Chris Carter]

 

[Chris1956]

In the first picture, the throttle handle looks to be in reverse. It suggests that the cables are incorrectly adjusted.

Remove both cables from the engine. Lower cable is the shift cable. Slide the shift slider toward the center, so motor is in neutral. Spin prop to verify.

Set throttle handle to the center of it's travel. It should have a detent to hold it there. If not, the small bearing fell out when you (or someone else) opened the controls.

Now, adjust barrell of shift cable to fit position of slider. You want the shift cable to fit, without moving the shift slider. Install shift cable.

Now adjust throttle cable barrell to push the throttle closed (to the rear of the engine), with a bit of preload. Install the throttle cable.

Now push the throttle lever forward (cold start lever must be down), and see that motor goes into gear and then throttle advances all the way to the stop. Full reverse may not allow for full throttle, which is fine.

 

[Chris Carter]

In the first picture, the throttle handle looks to be in reverse. It suggests that the cables are incorrectly adjusted.

Remove both cables from the engine. Lower cable is the shift cable. Slide the shift slider toward the center, so motor is in neutral. Spin prop to verify.

Set throttle handle to the center of it's travel. It should have a detent to hold it there. If not, the small bearing fell out when you (or someone else) opened the controls.

Now, adjust barrell of shift cable to fit position of slider. You want the shift cable to fit, without moving the shift slider. Install shift cable.

Now adjust throttle cable barrell to push the throttle closed (to the rear of the engine), with a bit of preload. Install the throttle cable.

Now push the throttle lever forward (cold start lever must be down), and see that motor goes into gear and then throttle advances all the way to the stop. Full reverse may not allow for full throttle, which is fine.

Thank you, I will be completing this at lunch today and will update.

 

[Chris Carter]

Ok, thanks for all the help. We've gotten it running and shifting in/out if gear. New fuel lines. Fixed fuel pump. Next on the agenda is water time to see how she runs! Thanks again for all the help!

 

[racerone]

That is considered to be a single lever control.-----This motor needs a new water pump impeller before leaving the dock.

 

[Chris Carter]

That is considered to be a single lever control.-----This motor needs a new water pump impeller before leaving the dock.

Water pump has been replaced too. Thanks.