89 Force 125 Shifter Linkage question

[lmoore101]

I just replaced the throttle and shifter cables on my 89 Bayliner with a Force 125 to fix a sticking shifter.<br /><br />Well I don't know what is happening now but the boat will shift into forward and reverse fine but the throttle won't engage. It looks like the shifter linkage on the motor is going too far forward/down and catching on the throttle linkage.<br /><br />The strange thing is reverse works just fine with no binding. If needed I can post pictures.<br /><br />Please help I would like to have the boat on the water by Memorial Day!<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Loran

 

[lmoore101]

Re: 89 Force 125 Shifter Linkage question

Here are some pictures to describe the linkage positions.<br />Here is the linkage is neutral:<br />

<br /><br />Here is the shifter in Forward with the throttle (bottom) cable only partially applied because it is jammed by the transmission (top)cable and won't move:

<br /><br />And another angle of it being jammed:<br />

<br /><br />Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[roscoe]

Re: 89 Force 125 Shifter Linkage question

You might want to try posting this in the "boat topics" forum for more exposure.<br /><br />Don't know what controls you have, but some controls have multiple points to connect the cables, to allow for a longer/shorter throw.<br /><br />You might want to open the controls back up and have a look.

 

[RRitt]

Re: 89 Force 125 Shifter Linkage question

I'll assume that your '89 engine has the same controls as my '88. Which is one black cable for throttle and one red cable for shifting connected to what I think is a teleflex control.<br /><br />first thing is to pull back the collars so that the cables are not connected. with cowling off, push and pull the control handle. make sure that the cables move properly. the red cable goes either in or out depending on reverse/forward. the black cable goes in the same direction either way.<br /><br />next, raise and lower the shift linkage while spinng the prop by hand. find the mid-point of neutral and make sure that your neutral saftey switch is centered at this point. with the control handle in neutral adjust your shift cable length so that the switch is properly centered.<br /><br />for the throttle. this is a good time to check your linkage adjustments per the manual. It is also the ideal time to set your idle speed if you have a problem conking out when shifting into gear. mercury mechanics like to set idle in their shops while boat is in neutral which often leads to conk-outs. ideal is to set your engine to idle at 700rpm while in gear. Once you are satisfied with your idle speed then adjust the throttle cable length to match location of ball joint and re-attach. then push the throttle all the way forward and look at butterfly valve. the shaft is squarish shaped on the end and aligns with the the actual butterfly inside carberator. At full throttle, the flat sides should be horizontal and/or pointed directly into engine. If it is not, the short rod in roscoe's picture #2 is used to make the adjustment.<br /><br />my guess is that you might have mixed up the throttle and shifter cables. but there is still no better time to check your linkages than now. even 1/8 of an inch can make your engine lose 1000rpm off the top end.

 

[RRitt]

Re: 89 Force 125 Shifter Linkage question

(actually, maybe red is throttle and black is shift) I always get them mixed up.

 

[lmoore101]

Re: 89 Force 125 Shifter Linkage question

thanks RRitt for the details instrucitons, I will try it this weekend. My controls are morse/teleflex and the old cables were both red. I guess they are black now. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[lmoore101]

Re: 89 Force 125 Shifter Linkage question

Well I got the linkage working properly. Thanks RRitt for your advise it is working great now. The shifter was hitting the throttle cable and causing the binding.