78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

[Mr.Stuart]

I'm probably answering my own questions on this subject, but thought I'd throw it past you people anyway.

I have the Starcraft that went through a flood, I cleaned it all up, ran the engine, fogged it, I did the 1 gallon of gas oil mix and a can of sea foam and ran that through the engine, I changed the plugs afterwards, charged up the batteries, took the boat out on Saturday, and it ran like a top, it ran perfect, idled perfect, no hesitation anywhere, I couldn't ask for a better running motor, the thing runs like a Swiss watch.

Sunday, I took it out, it ran perfect, a couple of friends and I set out for a cruise up the river, I ran the boat for well over an hour at about 3/4 throttle, (just enough to keep it on plane, when it got dark, we headed for that dock, that's when I noticed a slight problem, I couldn't get it back to neutral when I came up to the dock, I had to fight the throttle lever to force it to neutral, and it still wouldn't come out of gear, I shoved it into reverse and it went in with a hefty "thud" then I was able to go back to neutral fairly easily, but I lost control at the fast idle lever, it is now idling in fast idle with the lever all the way to the bottom, the lever has no effect at all, and moves real easy, it feels like something is disconnected, which I'm guessing it is, I haven?t torn anything apart yet, but figured I have a cable problem, the throttle and shift cables were new at the beginning of last summer, so I kind of find it hard to believe that their wore out.

Am I correct to guess it?s a cable problem?

the outboard is a 78 115 hp evinrude, still runs like a swiss watch, and was doing perfect until that happend.

 

[flabum]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

I'd disconnect the cables at the engine and move the controls to see if things are normal....if not then I'd split the control box and see if there is a problem there.

 

[dsinger]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

Sounds like a control problem to me.

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

I took the control box apart today, I have a broken throttle cable, can I replace the cable only?

the cable casing looks fine, nothing is broken, only the inner cable, I got it all apart and all it is, is a 16 foot length of piano wire, or at least that's what it looks like, the diameter is .075, (size 29 music wire)

would there be any harm in replacing this with stainless steel?

what's your thoughts?

Stuart

 

[ezeke]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

There is nothing wrong with just replacing the wire, but you will probably actually save money and have a better system, properly lubricated, by replacing the whole cable.

Look down the cable a couple of feet on each end and find the exact part number. Then price it at your dealer or here at iboats.

Be sure to save the casing guide(s).

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

cables are cheap, save the ends on your existing cables.

http://www.iboats.com/Johnson_Type_...8723160--view_id.250883--search_type.category

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

this is a picture of the remote, (like the one I have) and also the actual cable out of my boat, it doesn't quite look like the link TD posted, unless that is a generic picture. I want to make sure I order the right part.

looking at the cable, I see no part number, all it says on the cable is OMC, and that's it

 

[ezeke]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

The black engine end is like the one in the picture, but has set screws instead.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

it's the right one, i have the same control. save the ends. the diagram is deceiving.

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

thanks, I wanted to make sure I was on the right track, I'll order a new cable assembly.

Stuart

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

are the cables (the wire part of it) supposed to be stainless steel? the one I had wasn't, so I'm guessing that it may have been replaced before, I did some shopping around and it looks like iboats is about the cheapest place to get a replacement. my guess is that mine was original with a replaced wire.

I suppose having an extra for the spare parts bin wouldn't be a bad idea.

I really need to put together some sort of tool kit for that boat, something to carry on board, that throttle cable laid the boat up for a month, and when I finally did get around to looking into the problem, it looks to be such a simple fix.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

new ones are stainless, last longer. throw the old one out, you won't remember where or what it is when the new one goes bad.

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 Evinrude idle and shifting problems

new ones are stainless, last longer. throw the old one out, you won't remember where or what it is when the new one goes bad.

that's kinda what I was planning on doing with it, if I got this right, I need an OMC series 400, cc170 type cable, that should get me back out on the water

I had that outboard purring like a kitten to when that cable went, it's running better now then it did last year.