1970 1150 merc throttle linkage won't go wide open in forward but will in reverse .

The title says it all. When I advance the lever onthe control as far as it will go in forward the carbs only open about7/8 of the way, but with the lever in reverse it will fully hit the stops and the carbs open fully. I unhooked the shift cable thinking it might be putting the controls in a bind, but it didn't help. Is there any thing in the old mercontrol box that could be wrong or need adjusted. Or do I need to adjust the arm on the distributor to force them to open.

Re: 1970 1150 merc throttle linkage won't go wide open in forward but will in reverse

Remove the cable from the engine and shift the box seeing if it moves fully F and R and doing so, the center wire moves out an equal distance in both max positions. Assuming that will be ok. If not, after reading my complete comment, there is another barrel inside the control box, like the one at the engine end of the cable, that can be moved in a similar fashion.

With the cable removed, manually move the pin on the engine linkage that normally connects to the center wire adapter of the control cable. I am expecting that you can move the linkage such that you can move the butterflies to full open. If some do and some don't then adjust your linkage at your carbs.

Now, put your control box in N and move the little barrel that is threaded onto the outer cable brass end until it lines up in the slot made to accept it on the engine, with the hole in the center wire adapter over the pin on the engine's linkage. That should do it. Lock her down.

HTH,
Mark

Re: 1970 1150 merc throttle linkage won't go wide open in forward but will in reverse

Ok, thanks for the advice. I could be wrong but I don't remember there being an adjustment on the control side barrel, but maybe that's where I need to look. I'm trying to get it to where I can really link and sync it, but I know the first step is to get the throttle and the butterflys tuned in and set before the next step. I'll post my findings after I get to look at it closer.

Re: 1970 1150 merc throttle linkage won't go wide open in forward but will in reverse

There are no adjustments inside the control box. The barrel there is fixed. The only ones that move are in/at the engine side.