MT3 Single lever Morse control

[Plan_B]

The hand control lever on the morse control has become very loose - I'm almost afraid it will drop off - at the wrong time of course. It appears to be fixed on its shaft with an hex headed screw in a recess under the body of the lever. I've tried to tightening with the correct size allen key but it will not budge either by tapping with a hammer or increasing the leverage on the key with a ring spanner. WD40 has not yet helped. The result of my efforts is that the lever is now almost hanging off and the hex-head is rounding and the allen key is slipping.

I didn't want to drill it out as it is not only in an awkward place for the drill, but I would surely foul up the threads.

Any recommended solutions?

DD

 

[Stemar]

While I'm no expert in things mechanical and I'm not sure which model of control this is, I'd be thinking that it's time to get the lever off and see what's going on.

I'm pretty sure that the lever fits onto a shaped (splined?) splindle. If when pushed well on, the lever's still loose, it's probably time to change the control. If the lever's firm on the spindle and the innards are floppy, it's definitely time. They do have a finite life and while not cheap, are probably cheaper than not being able to engage astern as you come alongside, especially in a marina, where there's always something expensive in the way!

If the lever still fits properly on the spindle but the allen screw is knackered and not doing it's job, drill the bugger out. The lever is almost certainly a soft metal - mine's die cast - so you can use a cheap tap to recut it. If you have to, go up a size. If you can't get a suitable grub screw, use a hex head bolt a few mm longer than the hole, but don't overtighten it or you'll strip your new thread.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I don't know how much space you have but could you get the head of a LARGE soldering iron to it and hold it in place for a while?

I mean the old type that had a big lump of copper at one end and were heated with a blowlamp. It seems to me that the screw is seized in place due to oxidation of the alloy casting; local heating usually helps.