4 replies to this topic

[jprice26]

I did a search for this, and didn't find anything specific to this issue. If it's already been asked/answered, just call me a newbie and direct me to the appropriate thread.

Anyway, I have a '96 speedster. I've only owned it for a year, and it's always exhibited this issue. The throttle controls are very, very stiff when the engine is running. You really have to put some muscle into it to give it some gas. (so stiff that my wife can barely move them when she's driving)
But when it's off, the throttle levers move smooth as silk. Seems really odd to me, but since they move smoothly when the engine is off, I can't see how it could be any kind of stuck cable issue.
Maybe I just don't understand the mechanics of exactly how these boats run, but is there anything I can do make the throttle levers move a little easier?

[jprice26]

Update:
Ok, so it doesn't have anything to do with the engine running. I've always had it in neutral when off, so I made the correlation to the engine running, but I just went out to the garage and put it in drive/forward, and then tried the throttles. Sure enough, they were tight as all hell. go figure

Still don't have any idea what this means. Going to go pull them out and see what it looks like under there. Maybe something is getting jammed up.

[Kevin Leclair]

To me it sounds like something going on with the cables, let us know what else you find when you get in there.

[jprice26]

To me it sounds like something going on with the cables, let us know what else you find when you get in there.

I pulled the whole mechanism out, and everything looked ok. Cables are fine, they move super easy.
I backed out the friction screws as much as possible. The starboard throttle seems ok now(still a little tight, but ok), but the port one is still brutally tight. Seems that something is out of whack in the shifter that's causing that pivot point to bind up when it's in forward.
So I decided to take the whole thing apart to see what was going on in there. Of course the screws are completely seized up (or maybe they used red loctite?). Tried the heat gun to loosen them up, and I thought I finally had one coming out, but all I ended up doing was shearing the screw head off. Tried another one, same thing. wtf? Did they epoxy these damn screws in place?
I might try a screw extractor, but considering how tight they are, I'm not even sure that will work. Maybe I'm just stuck with a painfully tight throttle.

[Kevin Leclair]

Give this screw extractor a try, http://www.amazon.co...FJHFYCWSNVRRV5Z

It is possible they used loctite but I wouldn't think they would of used an epoxy, they might have just seized over time. Keep us posted of your progress.