Cockpit mounted throttle - fix or replace

[tuffyluffy 76]

My current lever/selector is playing up hence what's the collective wisdom of fixing or replacing these things?

In a nutshell, forward-idle-reverse works fine but the button (on the left) that's pulled out to engage neutral isn't working despite some encouragement.

Is it worth trying to fix it or should i just bite the bullet and replace it? and if I replace, what brands make a similar unit of decent quality?

Any intel is greatly welcomed.

[Fogg 427]

My mate fixed up his similar model a treat a few months ago. Dismantled whole thing, cleaned & lubed it, got it working and looking as good as new. His engineer even admired it on next visit to boat.

[aardvarkash10 1,138]

Isnt working as in won't move, or moves but does nothing?

[Winter 42]

My neutral selector is also seized, very seized. I went to replace the unit but I think they were more boat dollars than I found palatable. 

[Island Time 1,313]

Those units can usually be recovered with a bit of basic maint.

Cables, if seized, tight or leaking rust should be replaced. Take a pic of the shift and throttle assembly before removal, to be sure you put it back the same way. If incorrectly assembled, fwd can be rev. You have been warned  

Then  strip the cables and connections, and remove the unit from the boat. If its real bad, you may need to soak overnight in penetrating oil, nut cracker or similar, then try to press out the seized gear select disconnect knob. I've usually managed to get them out, but I did manage to break one once   - the replacements are expensive.

Once the button is out, clean the alloy plate up, and paint, reassemble with lubricant, and it should give you another 10+ years before seizing again!

[tuffyluffy 76]

Thanks all!

Its good to know that the unit should be salvageable with some TLC.

It sounds like a removal, deep clean and spruce-up are on the cards this weekend - thanks for the tips IT! Cables are fine its just the selector button that's seized.

[Fogg 427]

1 hour ago, tuffyluffy said:

Thanks all!

Its good to know that the unit should be salvageable with some TLC.

It sounds like a removal, deep clean and spruce-up are on the cards this weekend - thanks for the tips IT! Cables are fine its just the selector button that's seized.

The cables might look fine but if they are old they might not be fine. The only way to know for sure is detach them both ends and see how freely the inner wire moves inside the outer covering. Do this in a straight line but then put a bend in the cable and try again - an older cable will often suddenly get much stiffer to move with a real-world curve in it. Whereas a new cable will stay much free-we even with some bends.

[BMW56 13]

I have the same unit and while it's working OK the aluminium plate has become quite corroded. I had a go at removing the whole unit but gave up after removing the screws on the face plate and finding it was still well attached. It was going to be more complicated than I had time for that day so it's gone to the to-do list, but some maintenance is probably well overdue. To save me some mucking around, is somebody able to advise the best way to detach and remove the unit please? I'm thinking it may be fastened from behind where I can't see. Thanks.

[harrytom 698]

5 hours ago, BMW56 said:

I have the same unit and while it's working OK the aluminium plate has become quite corroded. I had a go at removing the whole unit but gave up after removing the screws on the face plate and finding it was still well attached. It was going to be more complicated than I had time for that day so it's gone to the to-do list, but some maintenance is probably well overdue. To save me some mucking around, is somebody able to advise the best way to detach and remove the unit please? I'm thinking it may be fastened from behind where I can't see. Thanks.

Had simular issue. As a temp fix just keep spraying plenty of WD40 inside and out. I have no idea how the come apart. Triedd but to avail.

[marinheiro 365]

7 minutes ago, harrytom said:

Had simular issue. As a temp fix just keep spraying plenty of WD40 inside and out. I have no idea how the come apart. Triedd but to avail.

don't use WD40 as a lubricant, there are much better options. My preference is INOX

https://www.inoxnz.co.nz/mx3-lubricant-2/

[eruptn 110]

Work from the inside...... take lots of photos .

[Frank 185]

Go for it ! if you have basic mech skills its no problem, take photos of everything but you should be able to find a manual on line. Mine is not the same model but its  27 years old and just had its second strip and rebuild so its ready for another decade. This time around I replaced the pressed steel cable mounting plate with sheet lexan from and old window.

[BMW56 13]

This may be useful:

Morse_MV-2_Owner_Manual.pdf (correctcraftfan.com)

 

[tuffyluffy 76]

Thanks for the tips everyone, the job turned out to be a piece-of-cake and the good use of a few hours. 

I removed the unit from the boat, stipped it down (carefully), cleaned large volumes of gunk out of it, greased it up, reassembled and reinstalled, and now its working like brand new one. 

The internal workings were completely clogged with a thick sludge of which I assume was old grease and salt.

Thanks again