Stiff Shifter

[caphilli]

Just picked up a 2003 Sea Ray 176 SRX. It's... to be blunt; a mess. It's got a 1984 engine in it. SEI upper portion of the sterndrive, OEM Mercruiser bell housing and lower half of the drive. It's a bit of everything.

But, I got it on the water this weekend and things are looking up. The previous owner said he had the shift cables replaced and only used it once after that. I noticed that the shifter is really stiff. I feel like I have to put a lot of pressure on it to move it in forward and reverse. My question is: since the cables were replaced, could it be the shift box / throttle lever and not the cables? My thoughts are that it may be seeing as the boat was used in the ocean for a while. Should I start by taking apart the box and seeing if that's the issue? I did notice that when I pop it in neutral it's a bit looser. Thoughts?

 

[jimmbo]

This is regarding the overall length of the Cable.
Unhook the cables at the engine and see if the Control operates smoothly. If the control is still Stiff, it might be a cable length issue, as in too long of a cable, and the cable has to make a series of bends to fit. At that point disconnect the cables from the control and again operate the control.

Perhaps the control just needs a bit of Cleaning and Lubrication.

There is also an adjustment on the Cable itself to adjust the length between the anchor and the linkage on the engine. Normally if the Throttle cable is adjusted too long, it is hard to shift out of gear into Neutral.

 

[GA_Boater]

Is the shifting stiff on and off the water?

 

[caphilli]

Is the shifting stiff on and off the water?

Yeah, it was rough. Cables look new and in good condition. The shifter doesn't feel like it was installed correctly because the housing is so loose. I'll have to check the cable attachment at the shifter to see if they're kinked. The cables were adjusted when the boat was at the shop last week. They pulled the engine out for some repairs and adjusted them when they put it back. So they say. They didn't replace the shift cable - said I had already racked up a big bill. So right now I'm just dealing with it. If it's not the shifter, I'll have it replaced next season. Everything ran fine when I was on the water this weekend, just stiff cables. And then I put it in reverse and then back to neutral, it didn't always want to catch and go back to neutral.