Hard shifting and steering effort

[michele]

Hi there -- I just bought a 1999 Sweetwater pontoon boat with a 1999 50 hp Mercury 2 stroke motor. The shifter and steering are really hard. Lubed them up but no dice. Someone at my marina said there was a replecement or recall Sweetwater had with the 50 hp Mercury throttle cable and box. Anyone hear of this?

 

[cr2k]

Re: Throttle/ Gear box hard to replace.. PLEASE HELP

Re: Throttle/ Gear box hard to replace.. PLEASE HELP

And while you have the box apart replacing the cables, spread a little white grease around inside it, you will be so surprised how much that helps. In fact that may be all you need. The boxes can be a PITA to R&R but once it's fixed it is worth all the trouble.

 

[QC]

Re: Throttle/ Gear box hard to replace.. PLEASE HELP

Re: Throttle/ Gear box hard to replace.. PLEASE HELP

Hey michele, started your own thread for this one to keep it separate from the old one. Better to have this focused specifically on your issue. Good luck!!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Hard shifting and steering effort

You can call Godfrey and ask about it btu you woudl think if there was a recall on the controll box it woudl be through Mercury not Godfrey, they just take it out of the box and put it on the boat they don't actually make the part so maybe check with Mercury too.

 

[dkorzun21]

Re: Throttle/ Gear box hard to replace.. PLEASE HELP

Re: Throttle/ Gear box hard to replace.. PLEASE HELP

And while you have the box apart replacing the cables, spread a little white grease around inside it, you will be so surprised how much that helps. In fact that may be all you need. The boxes can be a PITA to R&R but once it's fixed it is worth all the trouble.

Cr2k my control box is stiff to do you need to use white grease to lube it up or can I use wd40?
Also how do you go about greasing it just spray it in the open screw holes on the control box/ Arm.

Sorry to steal the post mines sticking too

 

[seabob4]

Re: Hard shifting and steering effort

One thing a lot of people neglect to check is the bends the cables make on the way back to the motor. Standard Teleflex/Morse cables are only recommended down to an 8" radius bend, Extremes and Supremes down to 4". So check to see how your cables are routed, they simply may just be binding.

The steering cable, on the other hand...well, you might want to disconnect the linkage, and see how the rod moves in and out of the tilt tube when you turn the wheel. The vertical tube that the motor itself pivots on may be the problem...