1987 125 hp throttle slop

lostinohio

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I have a 1987 Vip f/s with 125 hp force. Starts and runs but I have to move throttle quite a bit before I get any response. I have no slop at the engine. When I looked under at the control box it looks like the linkage pivots quite a bit before the cable moves. I am almost pointing to the floor at wot. Couldn't get a good picture of what I was seeing. Any ideas on how to adjust this? As soon as I move the throttle it engages into gear.
 

lostinohio

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This is my shifter. First pic is neutral. 2nd is when throttle first moves and last is all the way. This is my 2nd full year of owning the boat. Tach doesn't work and I've had it max out at 33 mph. I haven't had a chance to see if butterflies are fully open at wot. Maybe tomorrow. Just hate the long slop before throttle kicks in
20220520_211835.jpg
 

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lostinohio

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I was going to try that but I'm pretty sure I'm not getting enough throw from the cable. When I look under the cable is pivoting alot before it starts to move. When I have it at neutral the butterflies are closed. When throttle is wot I can manually move the linkage to open butterflies the rest of the way
 

lostinohio

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I have a good idle. Boat actually runs fine. I just feel like I'm only getting about 75% throttle
 

lostinohio

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Had a break in the weather and crawled under the boat cover. I reached under and felt the cable as I moved the throttle. It actually starts moving about the ti.e it's pointing at the upper left screw. It doesn't start moving the linkage from what I can see until the second picture. Will have to get a second set of hands to move the throttle while I observe the cable at the engine to see what's going on
 

lostinohio

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Alrighty. Found my slop. At the bottom of the tower shaft there is a piece that from what I can tell should have a pin keeping it in place. I'm guessing it came loose in the past as it appears there is jb weld over it. That failed. When I have my throttle at wot I can physically move the top part of the shaft enough to actually achieve wot. I have located a couple of these shafts on ebay but have not found any actual information on how to replace it.
 

lostinohio

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Took this photo of one online. It's this piece that's moving. I don't want to create a bigger mess for myself as I can still take the boat out and use it. I thought about trying to take it out and drill and bolt that solid but I knowhow a 5 min job turns into 5 months lol.
 

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tg3690

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Big question. Do I have to remove the flywheel to remove this shaft.
Basically the tower shaft has to be lifted high enough to clear the spacer plate in order to remove it without damage. If your flywheel is the only thing preventing you from lifting it high enough then removing the flywheel would be the answer. Not difficult with the proper tools.
 

lostinohio

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That's all I was wondering. I have one ordered and hoping it's a simple procedure.
 

jerryjerry05

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Yes the flywheel needs to come off.
I think there's some good video's out there covering this.
Just remember to leave the big nut on the top so the flywheel doesn't fly away( I've seen this) also wear leather gloves ,first time I saw someone remove the flywheel the guy ended up getting 15+ stiches in the area on his thumb and index finger.
 

tg3690

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"Just remember to leave the big nut on the top so the flywheel doesn't fly away" Never saw that mentioned in any manual or video before.....will be sure to do that the next time I pull a flywheel. (y)
 

lostinohio

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Alrighty got the flywheel off and this still does not let me get it out. Please someone hellllp lol. Is there any detailed info on this? I've searched and come up empty. If I had a welder I would have cut this off already as frustrated as I've been
 

tg3690

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On my 85HP it's not the flywheel that blocks you from lifting the tower shaft out, it's an overhang on the powerhead itself......right under where the distributor mounts....only about a credit card thickness of clearance between the top of the tower shaft and that overhang. Pretty sure I would have to remove the spacer plate in order to get the shaft out undamaged or to put in a new one.....and that would mean lifting the powerhead off in order to do that. When I recently put a rebuilt powerhead on I made damn sure the tower shaft was installed before putting the spacer plate on.....maybe jerry or somebody on here knows a trick or two about this.....but on mine I really don't see any other option.
 

lostinohio

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I'm going to drill and install a larger spring pin. Only thing I've figured is removing all the spring pins, sliding shaft in and putting attachments and pins back in. If plan A doesn't work that's what I'm doing
 

lostinohio

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Plan A worked. Drilled spring pin holes out to 3/32 and put new pins in. Slop is gone and WOT is now reached. Honestly other then removing pins and sliding attachments off of rod, I do believe only way to get this off in one piece is to remove powerhead. By removing flywheel and stator I was able to lift rod high enough to remove pins and drill them out. Not really sure how the holes in the rod got worn out. Doesn't seem like alot of load is on this. But it is 35 years old.
 

tg3690

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Good job....saved yourself a LOT of work for sure. Will keep your Plan A in mind if I ever have the same problem. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of pins did you use after drilling out to 3/32?
 
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