smooth shifting

P

pumy

New Member
Oct 5, 2009
41
LAKE OZARKS
Boat Info
290 SUNDANCER 1998
Engines
4.3 ALPHAS 1
I am not real familiar with Merc. Stearn drives but it seems like the shifters are to stiff to me, should they be a smooth transition from netural to foward and\or reverse? I have a 1998 Sea Ray 290 with 4.3 mercs with alpha 1 drives.
Is there a way to make them easier to shift and smoother to throttle up.
Thanks
Pumy
 
I've got the same setup but on a 270DA. Prior to my purchase they had to replace both the upper and lower shift cables due to them binding slightly and not shifting smoothly. Mine are really smooth but have needed to be adjusted a bit over this season to ensure positive engagement. If you have the original shift cables I'd bet it's about time for them to be replaced. You can follow them from the helm back and see if you can shoot lubricant into the jacket. There was a posting of spraying lubricant into the cable and then using compressed air to force it through the hose. You can also make sure the shifter itself is working smoothly and lubricate the moving part inside there as well.

The throttle cables binding as well? They too should be fairly smooth so you may want to check the throttle linkages and oil as needed.
 
I have a 98 Sundancer with a single Engine and I hate the way it shifts. The Cables where replaced and lubed and its still hard to tell when your in reverse / neutral when docking which is hard enough with a single drive. John G
 
tdappleman said:
I've got the same setup but on a 270DA. Prior to my purchase they had to replace both the upper and lower shift cables due to them binding slightly and not shifting smoothly. Mine are really smooth but have needed to be adjusted a bit over this season to ensure positive engagement. If you have the original shift cables I'd bet it's about time for them to be replaced. You can follow them from the helm back and see if you can shoot lubricant into the jacket. There was a posting of spraying lubricant into the cable and then using compressed air to force it through the hose. You can also make sure the shifter itself is working smoothly and lubricate the moving part inside there as well.

The throttle cables binding as well? They too should be fairly smooth so you may want to check the throttle linkages and oil as needed.
Click to expand...
I have the same problem on my 2000 sea ray i think this might help on my shifter but what kind of lubricant would you use on this.
 
I also have this issue on my 2006 280 Sundancer. I have spoken to two mechanics about it. Both indicated that it the "nature of the beast".
 
agreico said:
I also have this issue on my 2006 280 Sundancer. I have spoken to two mechanics about it. Both indicated that it the "nature of the beast".
Click to expand...

Same issue here. It makes docking difficult when you can't easily shift the engines in opposite directions with one hand. I am dealing with it for the present time but I will try to find a fix during the off season.
 
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