98 Mercury 90 hp Throttle cable/throttle lever problem

[Tech Tony]

I recently replaced the shift and throttle cables to my three cylinder 90 and Im finding that when going back to neutral, the shift lever sticks before it goes all the way down, if I touch it with my finger it will go all the way and idle at 1000 rpm but other wise it will stop at 1250 or higher. I adjusted the throttle cable as far as it would go, then slightly modified it to go a little more. I'm wondering if the shift arm on the motor has a spring inside that needs grease. And can it be removed and greased?

 

[Chris1956]

Add some preload to your throttle cable, to positively push the throttle closed. That should help shifting as well.

 

[Texasmark]

Preload defined as push the engine throttle arm all the way back. Put the remote control in the N position. With the throttle cable center conductor connected to the engine's throttle arm and the barrel on the outer shield, turn the barrel so that it is about 1/4" (give or take) forward of the socket where the barrel receiving plastic socket is located. Then insert the barrel in its receptacle with a little force and close the cover.

Then go the control box and move the throttle from idle to WOT and back a few times. Go back to the engine's throttle arm and see if the cable center conductor has pushed it all the way back.
Proper adjustment of idle speed is in the water, in F gear, boat moving, and adjust knurled knob on the spark advance arm in the engine for 650 +/- 50 RPM...per the manual. 1000 RPM in N is ok. You want the speed fast enough to keep the engine running when you shift gears but slow enough to prevent clunking of the drive components when shifting into gear.