Throttle/Shifter pressure

[Carpedmman]

Since I have owned my 330 for 10 years I was wondering if any other Sea Ray owners experience "heavy throttles/shifters". I have never replaced my shift/throttle cables but have noticed increased pressure required to push the throttles forward. (When I say hard pressure I'm 6'3" and 220 lbs and it takes some pressure to move the throttles forward or reverse) Does anyone else who has outdrives notice this with their throttles? I have removed the shifter housing and lubed the cables at this point, but seriously how much lube is really going to travel down 10-12' of cables?

What is the "life" of throttle/shift cables?

 

[keokie]

You have 2 shift cables for each engine. One that goes from the control at the helm to the shift mechanism on the engine. The other goes from the shift mechanism on the engine to the drive.

The first one is almost never the problem. The problem is usually the cable from the shift mechanism to the drive being worn and/or corroded. This is often greatly accelerated by water intrusion.

It is possible that the hard shifting is coming from the control assembly at the helm or something in the drive, but most likely, it is the shift cable to the drive.

You can dissamble the cable at the shift mechanism and the outdrive relatively easily and test for smoothness, but if you pull the drive and/or the front cap on the drive you can determine if there has been water intrusion.

 

[Carpedmman]

You have 2 shift cables for each engine. One that goes from the control at the helm to the shift mechanism on the engine. The other goes from the shift mechanism on the engine to the drive.

The first one is almost never the problem. The problem is usually the cable from the shift mechanism to the drive being worn and/or corroded. This is often greatly accelerated by water intrusion.

It is possible that the hard shifting is coming from the control assembly at the helm or something in the drive, but most likely, it is the shift cable to the drive.

You can dissamble the cable at the shift mechanism and the outdrive relatively easily and test for smoothness, but if you pull the drive and/or the front cap on the drive you can determine if there has been water intrusion.

Thanks Keokie-
I have the drives serviced regularly and just replaced all the boots last year. The shop did not mention signs of water intrusion, but then again, this shop was a bit of a f-up. Maybe when I have the drives serviced this year and the boat is high and dry, I will have the engine to drive cables replaced.

Thanks for the input.

 

[keokie]

If the shift assemblies have water in them, make sure to re-seal, as the leak will ruin the new cables quickly.