TOPIC: Cable replacement?

Look like I need to replace control cables. Where's a good place to buy new ones?

Thanks for any help.

Frank

I usually get mine from iBoats.com

Genuine Teleflex cables...good quality and a decent price(usually 20-30 dollars depending on the motor and length needed).

I ordered some 12'ers today from Wholesale Marine. They were less than 20 bucks apiece. We'll see what they are when they get here.

Thanks for the tip!

Frank

Boy, the merc manual is not great on how to replace these cables for my '71 single lever full gear shift box. It's at page 7B-16 in the 65-74 manual. My cables should be here Wednesday, so I guess all I can do is pull the control box apart and see what ticks.

Any you fellers got pics, advice, suggestions etc? I would greatly appreciate any help!

Thanks,

Frank

Wait till you get your new cables and then tear everything apart and replace one at at time in the same position they originally were(assuming they all worked properly to begin with). They really arent that complex inside but can be a pain in the butt to get back together if you just rip everything apart without paying attention to where everything goes.

And yes, the manuals dont really show much on the control boxes...trial and error has been the best helper to me in this area.

Give any wear points, inside the box, a light shot of grease.

as you crack that box be ready with a camera...take many pics

I checked iBoats and they have the teleflex cables. So how do you determine which to get such that they will fit our old motors? meaning so that the little barrel will screw on to the cable end?

thegammas wrote:

I checked iBoats and they have the teleflex cables. So how do you determine which to get such that they will fit our old motors? meaning so that the little barrel will screw on to the cable end?

Depends on the year of your motor. They sell the type 600A cables(screw on barrel style) which fit pretty much everything 1965-present. I dont know much about Mercs before 1965 so i have no idea if they used the same cable style or not...sure someone will chime in on it.

Thanks for the tips guys. We'll see if the ones I get are correct. I'm going from a '71 control box to a '63 Merc1000. I'm not too worried, as these cables aren't all that expensive, plus I found a source in Albany (near by) I can get them at if need be.

Cables should be here tomorrow.

Now I gotta get the PT&T mounted and build some seat bases. Close, but not there yet.

Frank

Please see the pic below of my control box. I believe it is a '71 full gear shift box. Can anyone tell me where the shift/throttle lever needs to be when hooking up the motor? It sounds from the manual like I need the control lever straight up and the idle lever down all the way?

The directions say to move the throttle lever on the engine forward to throttle stop (idle position) and hold there while adjusting the barrel so that the distributor is held lightly against the idle screw. Can someone maybe interpret this for my with a couple pics? I sure would appreciate it!

Thanks,

Frank

Frank, I believe you need the throttle lever in neutral, looks like that's where it is in the pic. Move the fast idle lever down, (off). Back at the motor you want the throttle linkage with the carb shutters closed, the gear shift lever in neutral, and the distributor resting against the idle stop. THEN move the Main Throttle control lever full forward to check for fully open butterflies, and forward gear engagement. The distributor should also turn against the full throttle stop. Return to neutral and make sure she shifts back on the gear lever.

When adjusting the gear shift cable, they caution against shifting into reverse without the engine running, can damage the linkage or something. I've found you can, just be carefull. May need to turn the motor or prop by hand to line up the gears when doing so.

Thanks Mark, I need to get this right. New cables should be here today, but of course, I have another meeting tonight, so maybe tomorrow. Brian said he could come over and give me a hand. We'll see how it goes.

Frank

No problem bud, glad to help. The fast idle lever basically stays down during adjustment, you can check it when you're done. It just moves the distributor a little advance when you pull it up, no throttle movement. Good luck, gotta go.....

Just checked UPS, cables left the Albany UPS center at 8 a.m. today for delivery. That means by the time I get home tonight (maybe 7'ish) they should be there.

I've been cleaning up the shop and garage from the mess produced over the last month painting, fiberglassing, rub rail (and other stuff) installation, etc. Really all I need now is to get the control cables hooked up correctly and the trim pump in and hooked up. I need to do some seat bases too but that will be easy.

Thanks!

Frank

I went through this just recently. It caused me fits with a single lever box on my '61 Merc 500. Saw this and thought that it might help.This is from "John's Mercury" site.I've just been through this......use the pre 72 (if I remember correctly) OMC cables with no ends.

Take off the plastic threaded OMC anchor nut and tread on the merc barrel (you may have to drill and retap the merc barrel - but it works).

If you are adapting to the two lever merc box.....they will work fine with enough throw.

If you are adapting to the oval style single lever Merc box - I found that the nylon rack will will travel off the end of the OMC brass tube and jam when it tries to travel back over the end. I solved this by adding 2" to the tube (cut brass end off the old cable and solder togather with a 1/4" brass sleeve and taper the ends of the sleeve so the nylon rack moves freely over the conector sleeve).

Hope this helps.

MarkS is correct Frank, engine in N warm up throttle lever down, main handle upright like your picture. This was the standard controller from the mid 60's through the 70's. Make sure when you adjust the throttle cable the linkage is just touching the stop, you may need to re adjust this after you have adjusted your idle speed on the motor. Again MarkS is correct re. moving the controller lever to astern YOU MUST TURN THE PROPSHAFT (or the flywheel) or you can damage stuff.

Re. fitting the cables in the controller, they are very easy to do but as another contributer mentioned, watch the detent roller, it can jump out. Look out for wear on the gear selecting 'quadrant' where the small tooth on the centre 'wheel' engages. Source a replacement(s) if either the tooth or the slot in the quadrant is worn. Lubricate this area well & lubricate the detent roller. Hopefully no one from the bugger-up team has been in before you so it will be correctly assembled when you open it up. They really are very simple, with only three main parts. I have never had a problem with them and found them simple to sort out, but I do know people that find them difficult.

After reading the merc manual on this a # of times I think I get the replacement part okay, and Mark and your comments are really very helpful. I won't get home till late tonight, but the cables should be home when I get there. I have the control box on my shop bench right under a good light, with the old cables laid out straight along the floor with no obstructions around to make this as easy as I can. If I can just replace the cables tonight I have time tomorrow after work to install the box back at the helm, run the cables and hook them up.

Thanks to all for the help and suggestions!

Frank

Apparently the way I hooked it up with my old cables was the way it needs to get hooked up guys. It just didn't seem right to me, but I looked at all your comments, and ended up hooking the throttle cable in the same position I had it before. Motor started right up, though it took me a bit to figure I was revving it up in gear. I moved the throttle to neutral, revved it a bit with the idle control, then moved it into forward, back to neutral, and into reverse. No problems, everything seems to work the way it is intended to. My new pee tube I put in the top of the powerhead to feed out just below the cowl also worked. If I can figure out how to get the video I did out of my camera and into youtube, I'll add a video later.

Thanks for all the help gents, y'all are the best!

Frank

Frank....you must be located pretty close to me if your cables were shipped through Albany. I'm located on Saratoga Lake and am running a 1972 Glastron/Carlson CV-16 with a Merc 1150 that Tim C. recently rebuilt for me. Please let me know when you get your boat and motor on the water...I'd love to see it when you get it all together. Matt

Frank,
It is a real bad idea to shift the beast into Reverse on the muffs as you could grenade the gear case if the prop or bare prop shaft is still spinning forward without resistance when you do the shift.
The 'voice of experience'

Thom

ka2kci wrote:

Frank....you must be located pretty close to me if your cables were shipped through Albany. I'm located on Saratoga Lake and am running a 1972 Glastron/Carlson CV-16 with a Merc 1150 that Tim C. recently rebuilt for me. Please let me know when you get your boat and motor on the water...I'd love to see it when you get it all together. Matt

Top of the mornin to ya Matt!

We live on the other side of All Baloney, down in Coeymans Hollow, just a few miles west of Ravena. Man o man, pretty boat ya got there

We plan to launch on or about Memorial Day. Got a few NYS required things to pick up (life jackets, anchor rode, fire extinguisher, new prop), but looks like we'll be set for that stuff in the next week. We had planned to launch down at the Coeymans town boat launch, but might be enticed north to a lake. To be honest I'd much rather go boating on a lake that the Hudson in general with an old classic like this.

It's been more than 10 years since we've had a boat, and I had a bunch of them over the years. Never had an old merc, so that's always a learning experience. Last major job here really is to add PT&T. That's a job for superman this weekend, cause I sure can't do it. Gonna do something esay this a.m. - hook up the tach.

Enjoy that CV-16. They are such slick boats!

Frank

Dr_Frankenmerc wrote:

Frank,
It is a real bad idea to shift the beast into Reverse on the muffs as you could grenade the gear case if the prop or bare prop shaft is still spinning forward without resistance when you do the shift.
The 'voice of experience'

Thom

Doc, I know people have mentioned this, but I have never "got it." I won't do it again, and am happy I blundered forward fat, dumb and happy with no damage except to my pride...

On the flip side, I am fortunate to have a couple other LU's, one that I know is the same year from my parts motor, and another one I have that I think is the same bolt pattern. It's the best one I have, and I been meaning to check gear ratio on it, just keep forgetting.

Thanks again for getting that shift lever to me Doc.

Frank

Is there some idiots guide to the operation of that control box? Mine is black and attached to a 75 Merc 1500, but it looks a LOT like that.

Don't be fooled, I painted my control box, and forget what color it was.

Follow along my posts long enough, and that will be the idiot's guide!

Running a bit rich, but is okay after re-assembly.

Frank