One for the Bravo Three experts......

mrgrumpy2

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Because of a failed bellows and a couple of other issues I have just had to replace one of my Bravo Three legs (ouch!!). Before the leg was changed, the throttle controls for both engines had the same amount of resistance and both were very precise and easy to operate. Since the leg was replaced the throttle control for that engine is now extremely stiff to operate which has resulted in a very jerky motion when both accelerating and decelerating. I also found out this afternoon that it makes mooring somewhat more difficult. Does anyone know what could have caused this huge change in the operating characteristics of the throttle/gear lever, and more importantly how it can be rectified???Thanks in advance.
 
Changing a bravo 3 leg doesn't even require the lifting of the engine bay hatch.
Co-incidence gets my vote.
Oil the throttle mechanism on the engine as a start. If that doesn't help, try and trace the problem. Disconnect the throttle cables from the engines - do the controls feel the same? Do the trhottle levers on the engine feel the same?
Maybe a numpty mechanic re routed the throttle cable whilst he was there. Or perhaps the pivots rusted up a bit whilst the leg the leg was off.
 
I know very little about outdrive's and therefore I'm probably way off the mark but..........As the throttle lever also engages forward an reverse gears, is there not some kind of cable connection to the top of the drive that houses the gearing and clutch.
 
there are 2 cables from your control lever to each engine.

On each engine, 1 cable goes to the throttle control on the injector pump and one to a lever bolted to the engine. This in turn connects to a short cable that goes to the outdrive to select forward/neutral/reverse.

You said the throttle was jerky. Once the gear is engaged, (cable 1) the throttle is controlled by cable 2. Thus the throttle is nothing whatsoever to do with the gearbox, it happens to use a different part of the travel of the same lever to control it. If it had been stiff getting in and out of gear I could see the connection, but sticky throttle no.
 
Sorry if I didn't make my self clear..... It seems to me that every aspect about the lever is different, that includes the initial selection of the gear and the subsequent increase or decrease in revs....is is possible that both things can be occuring?
 
If that's the case, it sounds like a problem with the control lever box. As said already, the throttle and gear cables are independent, and end up in different places.

Not sure about Merc ones, but mechanical Volvo ones have an adjustment grub screw which you loosen / tighten on the box itself to adjust friction.
 
Had this problem on my Volvo leg with Morse control. It was my fault, I had adjusted the throttle cable to remove any play. This caused every thing to go very stiff and jerky, even selecting gear was a problem. Suggest you check for slack in both gear and throttle cables. Hope this helps.
 
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