Stiff throttle, and it's not the cables or shifter!

[PunchyTurtle]

I've got a 19 ft Carolina Skiff with a 2005 Mercury 50hp EFI 4 stroke that has a stiff throttle. It's not impossible to use and have been running it with a stiff throttle for a while now. It just takes more effort than it should. I hung the cables and dripped oil through them recently and tore down the control as well. The cables and controls move smoothly and easily when isolated in the system, and the cables and controls move smoothly when disconnected from the motor. At this point, I'm thinking it's an issue with the shifting in the motor itself, but I have no idea where to start with that, and digging on the internet hasn't yielded any results. Any help is appreciated

 

[airshot]

Shift your motor manually and see how that feels

 

[PunchyTurtle]

I kind of have an idea of how to do that, but I just want to pass it by you so I don't damage anything.

Would I disconnect the shift cables and then manually move the shift rod while having someone spin the prop? And moving the throttle rod to test if it's stiff wouldn't do any harm right?

And for reference, I've attached an exploded view of the throttle/shifting assembly where the shift cables are attached in the motor.

 

[airshot]

Best to do it running just like a real life scenerio. Just unhook the shift rod and move the shift lever, that will tell you if it is in the motor.

 

[brodmann]

You haven't told us what type of motor you have, but most outboards have grease fittings on those moving parts. Obviously, you could start by spraying a bunch of WD-40 all over those parts and linkages and working the controller a few times to let that work into the pivot areas and see if that helps.

 

[topgun3690]

You haven't told us what type of motor you have

He did....in first post.... 2005 Mercury 50hp EFI 4 stroke...everything but the serial number......

 

[PunchyTurtle]

Best to do it running just like a real life scenerio. Just unhook the shift rod and move the shift lever, that will tell you if it is in the motor.

Okay gotcha. Will I have to throttle up as well? It'll stall if I don't, right? I guess there will be no resistance on the prop though so it might just not stall.

 

[roscoe]

Motor should not stall when shifting. Ever.

Your post says “stiff throttle” , twice.
Then you are working on the shift linkage.

Is it the throttle or the shifting that is giving you trouble?

 

[brodmann]

Airshot suggested that he check the throttle cable while motor is running. He told OP to remove the shift cable before testing, but I think OP overlooked that step.

 

[KJM]

Okay gotcha. Will I have to throttle up as well? It'll stall if I don't, right? I guess there will be no resistance on the prop though so it might just not stall.

Do you have to throttle up now to shift gears? You shouldn't need to do that, I would think thats not good for your gears. Just unhook the cables and lubricate the mechanism and work it back and forth with engine off for a while and then try it with the engine in idle.