I have a 2003 Mercury ELPTO 60HP, the throttle was stiff for sometime, especially shifting into reverse. Today i can not get reverse at all, but read on to figure out how we got here.
One day, reverse disappeared - what i mean is that when i got to the dock and attempted to shift into reverse the throttle was locked up and i couldn't slow down the boat into reverse :BANG: Now, i had been thinking of replacing the entire control box and cables for some time, so i decided to force the issue and try to jam it into reverse. Naturally, all this did was break the controls, which was fine as i was planning to replace anyway. (note: i shifted in and out of reverse several times this day prior to the locking up)
So i replaced the control box and cables; when i purchased the motor it was on a binnacle mount, i replaced it with a side-mount as the design of the boat is much better for this application. In doing this I found that the shift plate on the motor - where the cable connects to motor - was stiff and it was hard to force into a reverse position. So i tested it connected to the controls; it was stiff so i cleaned it up and re-greased to get it sliding again and the movement is now smooth from forward to reverse.
(I feel like it could be helpful to mention that not too long ago the tell-tale hose dry-rotted and filled the cowling up with water (salt). Naturally i gave it a good rinse down, cleaning, and moved on. I did have to replace a starter solenoid that corroded from the inside out after this - so i feel like the motor was at least in some way effected by the salt water intrusion. )
After installing the controls and cables it "tested fine" on land hooked up to the hose. However, upon launch i couldn't reverse off the trailer - so i pushed it off and went fishing and to the sand bar a few times over the past couple weeks anyway. Well, i put it back on the trailer this AM to do some more trouble shooting and try to solve this issue.
Here's what i'm looking at:
1. With motor OFF & controls in FWD position -- prop spins freely (clicks) in a clockwise direction and locks in CCW.
(i also feel like i should mention that at one point whilst the controls were completely disconnected i turned the prop CCW a few times beyond the click/locking up point)
2. OFF in Neutral -- spins freely either direction, im not with boat at the moment not sure of any clicking
3. OFF in reverse -- spins freely in either direction (clicking??)
4. Turned ON perfect in FWD and Neutral (i water and on land)
5. Turned ON in reverse -- prop spins and responds to amount of throttle being applied (spins faster) but you can apply friction and stop the prop (by use of a PVC pole -- or apparently water friction)
What do we think the issue is here?
One day, reverse disappeared - what i mean is that when i got to the dock and attempted to shift into reverse the throttle was locked up and i couldn't slow down the boat into reverse :BANG: Now, i had been thinking of replacing the entire control box and cables for some time, so i decided to force the issue and try to jam it into reverse. Naturally, all this did was break the controls, which was fine as i was planning to replace anyway. (note: i shifted in and out of reverse several times this day prior to the locking up)
So i replaced the control box and cables; when i purchased the motor it was on a binnacle mount, i replaced it with a side-mount as the design of the boat is much better for this application. In doing this I found that the shift plate on the motor - where the cable connects to motor - was stiff and it was hard to force into a reverse position. So i tested it connected to the controls; it was stiff so i cleaned it up and re-greased to get it sliding again and the movement is now smooth from forward to reverse.
(I feel like it could be helpful to mention that not too long ago the tell-tale hose dry-rotted and filled the cowling up with water (salt). Naturally i gave it a good rinse down, cleaning, and moved on. I did have to replace a starter solenoid that corroded from the inside out after this - so i feel like the motor was at least in some way effected by the salt water intrusion. )
After installing the controls and cables it "tested fine" on land hooked up to the hose. However, upon launch i couldn't reverse off the trailer - so i pushed it off and went fishing and to the sand bar a few times over the past couple weeks anyway. Well, i put it back on the trailer this AM to do some more trouble shooting and try to solve this issue.
Here's what i'm looking at:
1. With motor OFF & controls in FWD position -- prop spins freely (clicks) in a clockwise direction and locks in CCW.
(i also feel like i should mention that at one point whilst the controls were completely disconnected i turned the prop CCW a few times beyond the click/locking up point)
2. OFF in Neutral -- spins freely either direction, im not with boat at the moment not sure of any clicking
3. OFF in reverse -- spins freely in either direction (clicking??)
4. Turned ON perfect in FWD and Neutral (i water and on land)
5. Turned ON in reverse -- prop spins and responds to amount of throttle being applied (spins faster) but you can apply friction and stop the prop (by use of a PVC pole -- or apparently water friction)
What do we think the issue is here?