Problems with Morse control lever

S

srevir

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 Jul 2007
Messages
81
Visit site
I have just acquired a 25 year old boat fitted with a 20 hp bukh engine controlled by a single Morse lever

The problem is that getting into neutral is very tricky.

My previous boat required that you press the central tit when the lever was approximately at TDC and then move the lever slightly one way or the other. This locked the tit in with no drive applied to prop. To release you moved the lever across TDC, the tit popped out and drive was restored.

On this boat this does not seem to work and I am left fiddling the lever to and fro until a 'miracle' happens.

I presume that I need to adjust the cables and or the tit but have no understanding of how the mechanical mechanism works (Being an electronics guy I have limited appreciation of such gizmos !)

There are no markings on the unit so I cannot identify it in order to try to get a manual from whoever made it

So I would welcome any suggestions for who the maker might be, what the problem might be and, best of all how to fix it.

If anyone can explain how the gizmo is supposed to work then that would be very useful too.

I have photos but cannot figure out how to insert them here (The image button asks for a URL but my photos are on a laptop not a website) so education on that point would be gratefully received.

Thanks
 
Does your control have a "tit" ?

If so the usual problem is that it sticks, and you can get neutral, but when you centralise the lever and then move it forwards or back the tit stays partly in and you can't get a gear.

On mine the solution was to lever off the little plastic cap on the tit with a small screwdriver. You can then clean up the mating surfaces and spray the lubricant of your choice into the works.

This cured mine and a year later it is still operating perfectly. I found I also needed to rub done the outside of the plastic cap slightly to get a smooth sliding fit.

Hope this helps

Leigh
 
Inside the lever housing a little roller runs in a groove and the neutral position has a slight indent. This can be difficult to find at the best of times but with an old lever and some wear, it may be non-existent.
Basically it's crummy engineering with a steel roller running in a groove in an alloy casting with no means of regular lubrication. Thus it has been for 30years!!!
 
Been there - great till it don't work! Whilst you are poking around it would be worth checking/changing the morse cables.
I had a close call when Hanser's gear box cable snapped whilst entering Poole Yacht Haven!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
I've got the same problem with an old morse unit. There is (was) a detent position at neutral but any slack in the cables and fittings means you have to waggle backwards and forwards until you actually get neutral. Ideally, you adjust the cable so there is no slack on the push/pull element of the gear change cable, in practice there is usually so much wear in the gearbox linkage and cable connections that a waggle, or a wiggle if that is what turns you on most, is the only way to feel for neutral. You could of course invest in a new control lever, cables and end terminations, trunnions, pins, gear-box linkages etc but short of replacing the gear selectors age will still tell. I suspect the cheapest option once you've taken out what slack you can is to get used to it.
 
surf over to the teleflex morse site, they have a lot of manuals available some of which cover installation and setting up.

The Morse unit on my 25 y/o boat has the same problem, not finding neutral, remaining in gear. Has caught me out a few times. Because of the way the units work i suspect that the problem is too much play in the gearbox cable. Next trip to the boat, a priority one job is to fix this!
 
Took mine off, drilled the rivets, cleaned the whole corroded mess out and re-greased. Hrdest part was fitting the new self cutting screws in place of the rivets.
Works like a dream now.

steve
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top