Morse Controls - Advice needed

[boatone]

Problem:- 30 year old Princess 32 with twin Volvo 270 legs and Morse cable controls very stiff.....in fact a bit of a pig!
How do I go about diagnosing cause of problem?
Can anyone recommend good engineer for these things Thames area near Chertsey?


TonyR
boatone@boatsontheweb.com
www.boatsonthethames.co.uk

 

[scottie]

they will be very stiif or even impossible to work with out turning the drives over but other than that you will either have a bent cable end or the system is out of adjustment

are they single station or dual station ?

if they are dual station what method do they have for combining the gear changes?

if they are dual station you will have to adjust everthing fro neutral to start with

the dual station change overs will have locking hole thgat you can put pins in to adjust from

try the system with the gear cables disconnected at the drives and see if thatey are still stiff.

start with that and let us know how you get on

 

[Guest]

Are both sides stiff?

Are they stiff when free-revving, or just when in gear?

If only when in gear, is it just in astern or forwrd as well?

Regards PaulB

 

[mtb]

Undo em first then ( drive end ) are they still stiff !!
Normaly they wear at the point that they have been laid to get around some thing so check that .
I would not have thought the cables will have grease points .If you find the outer plastic covering worn through then that may well be the trouble spot , you could try WD40 but the only way is to replace with new .
and you thought changing the wheel was hard.
Mick

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats
I want a big steel ex trawler / tug v / cheap or swap for tug

 

[Guest]

Disconnect from engine - still stiff? Disconnect at telegraph end - still stiff?

Try and avoid using WD40 as this will dissolve the grease that the cables need.

You can regrease them, but it is a horrid job. It goes like this: Disconnect cables both ends. Extend fully in one direction. Grease exposed innner cable well. Extend fully the other way. Grease newly exposed inner cable. Repeat until really thoroughly pissed off.

Option 2: Buy new cables for about £40. Keep old ones as spares.

Would recommend the latter.

Nick

Nick

 

[BarryH]

Re: Tip on greasing

Many moons ago, the cables on my Bezza Bantam needed lubin at least once a month, it lived out in the open. I bought a cable greaser from the local motorbike workshop. Natty little contraption, looks like a syringe, but has a screw thread on the plunger. Fill it with grease, clamp it round the outer cable sleeve, and screw away. OK on a 18 foot morse cable it may take 2 or 3 refills but it saves a lot of time and mess.

 

[scottie]

how to destroy morse cables

Greaseing them with anything other than the original lubricant will destroy the synthetic liners and cause them (the linings )to swell and seize the cables wash and clean the rod ends if you like but do not grease the inners
Most times if the cable are stiff it is because the rod end is bentor the conduit has been heated excessively

 

[BarryH]

Re: how to destroy morse cables

My morse dealer said it was ok to lube them with 24C grease from quicksilver the mercury parts people. I've done it once a season for about 6 years now. no ill effects and the cables run smooth, maybe i'm just lucky

 

[scottie]

Re: how to destroy morse cables

Morse used to sell a lubricant and applicator check any information from MORSE and it will tell you not to grease the inner cable which is why they have wiper seals fitted on the end
although from the number of outdrive cables with out seals running in saltwater they seem to be hardy

 

[boatone]

Re: Morse Controls - Result

Had boat lifted yesterday and found all sorts of things needed doing to sort problem.
Reverse leg locking catches gunged up with antifoul and muck, locking actuator pins covered in scale and semi seizing in sleeves.
Gear shift cable wrong length, bent too many times and at too tight radius.
Control lever assembly seizing up between clutch plates with old hardened grease.

All problems caused by lack of simple routine maintenance and using wrong cables at some time in the past.
Also found anodes were zinc although previous owner assured me they were magnesium for fresh water.
So, yet more knowledge for the 'how to do it myself next time' cost saving info bank.
Weather was bloody awful yesterday and working at low speed on the Thames and in the marinas a real pig in the high winds. Funnily enough SWMBO seemed to enjoy the experience.........

TonyR
boatone@boatsontheweb.com
www.boatsonthethames.co.uk

 

[scottie]

thanks

thanks for the update