Remote control very stiff when moving forward

[jaysea]

hi ,just last month i believe i had the some problem with my i/o control box, the handle stripped an was stuck at almost full throttle,i think i almost ---- my self ,i shut the key, found the problem an idled back to the ramp, i replaced the shift cable an the control box,i put in a morse control box with tilt an trim, almost like new again

[Bygracealone]

Rick,

You might try giving a guy named Brian a call at Fairwinds Marina in Annapolis. He may have a good deal on a used one or one from an "open box." It's worth a shot; those things are EXPENSIVE brand new.

[spareparts]

hook the shifter back up, leave the cables loose at the engine, try to operate the shifter with some one putting a little resistance on the cable ends and see if it gets dramtically harder to operate. If it feels pretty good, hook up the shift cable only at the engine. Start the engine and check how it shifts(don't shift it with out the engine running, it can bind teh cable), if the controll box feels pretty good, then install the throttle cable, make sure you don't preload the throttle cable more than 2 or 3 turns, max. If you have the throttle cable preloaded too much, it will cause the controll box to be stiff. If it is stiff with just the shift cable hooked up, disconect the shift cable at the bracket and try to shift teh cable to the drive by itself, it is normally a bit stiff, but you should be able to shift it with your hands. The slave cable to the drive can go bad for a various reasons, and they need changing out from time to time. Just try to separate the shifter from being the problem for now(we can discuss shift cable replacement later). Those shifter are not that great of a shifter, don't even try to service it, it will get you into more of an issue than you could imagine, when they were new, they were not that smooth. If you think you need a replacemnt, try with Uflex or Teleflex, check Iboats or ebasicpower.com

[rb437]

Spare,

"If you have the throttle cable preloaded too much, it will cause the control box to be stiff." Wouldn't this cause an problem shifting to reverse also? The problem only occurs when moving the shifter forward. The problem occurs when moving the control from either neutral to forward or from forward back to neutral. Never in reverse. Both cables seem to move freely when disconnected and the cable from the engine to the lower unit also has minimal resistance. I think the only thing I haven't tried that you mentioned is checking it with the shifter cable connected and the throttle cable disconnected. I'll let you know how that works out.

BGA,

Thanks for the tip. Been to Fairwinds many times. For someone a little more energetic than me, it's walking distance from my house. They have some good bargins there if you don't mind digging around and looking through that stuff. I've looked through the used stuff they have there and didn't see what I needed. After I try what Spare suggested, I'll talk to them about new.

Thanks all,
Rick