Teleflex SL-3 hard to engage reverse

[oGaryo]

So, first snag on the S28 to address. The stbd remote comtrol is hard to get out of neutral and in to reverse, no probs going in to forward. Notably, the swivel bearing shown below seems to be much looser than the port side with holder movng laterally when trying to select reverse. The port side is ok. Once in gear, the throttle operation is smooth on the stbd side.

Has anyone else come across this and tightened up the swivel bearing and if so, how tight should it be please?

To tighten, I presume it's a case of removing the snap on cover, moving the shift cable out of the holder to expose the flat head screw and tightening it.. access space is quite poor though with lots of opportunity to drop something in to the bowels of the helm station never to be found again

 

[rafiki_]

Gary, sounds like a Q for VP or Tom?

 

[scottie]

Check the adjustment on the throtle side if the terminal is nut at he correct place it will jam as it fully retracts causing stiffness
.

 

[oGaryo]

Check the adjustment on the throttle side if the terminal is not at the correct place it will jam as it fully retracts causing stiffness
.

Thanks, that sounds promising as it does feel like something is jamming momentarily, a quick yank / knock gets it past the block and then it's fine. I put that down to difficulty getting in to gear but once in, there's no restriction. I didn't think that it might be the throttle sticking and in fact thinking about it, I'm fairly sure I need to move the lever a little further once over the restriction before the drive is engaged which aligns to your theory.

Will check it out when next down the boat.

 

[scottie]

Check that the rod end on the cable is not bent whilst in there

 

[Peanuts]

Hi Gary

Welcome to the S28 world.

What exactly is the sticking morse control problem, I worked on a 2005? S28 with a sticking reverse only on one engine and after lots of dis-connecting cables trying this and that it ended up being the hole on the helm mounting not quite cut out enough, one of the inside levers were just touching the wood/grp, quick file of the edge to clear and problem sorted.Of course this might not be your problem but as a fellow S28 owner I just thought I would mention it.

 

[oGaryo]

exactly the same symptoms and hopefully, exactly the same cause and fix. I'll check it out when down along with the other idea of checking the throttle lock nut setting.

Here's another symptom that could give a clue, the travel of the stbd throttle is further than the port by a good cm or so and to get the same rpm, the stbd lever needs to be further forward. I also recall seeing that the amount of thread on the stdb side throttle cable was different to that on the port.

The stbd level also has more lateral play than the port.

Only other observation is the stbd leg trims down to -4 and the port to -3, any clues there?

Think the first thing I'll try is adjusting the throttle cable so the travel of the lever is the same as the port and also tighten up the 17mm nut where the lever attaches to the control body (under the rubber button for disengaging the gears)

If none of this works, I guess it's on to disconnect the shift cable, tighten up the swivel bearing screw slightly and check if the lever still sticks with the shift cable disconnected,

p.s. Southern Shiprights replaced the stbd shift cable in Feb of this year due to stiff operation signing it off as issue fixed

 

[volvopaul]

My first guess was the shift cable as the inner part cuts into the inner liner on any bend of the cable, however as its had a new cable I'd be looking further into the cone clutch area as its clearly not set up right to disengage when the engine is running.

-3 and -4 in full down trim, did you not spot this when you had it checked out?

 

[scottie]

The splines for the hand lever are not always aligned in a vertical plane so if you put hem back to back this doubles the problem so check if thy both start aligned in neutral the cable adjustment is not always the same as here may be a difference in backlash due to variations in cable lengths nd number of bends.

 

[oGaryo]

My first guess was the shift cable as the inner part cuts into the inner liner on any bend of the cable, however as its had a new cable I'd be looking further into the cone clutch area as its clearly not set up right to disengage when the engine is running.

-3 and -4 in full down trim, did you not spot this when you had it checked out?

thanks Paul, will factor that in and nope, didn't spot it. may still be the cable, wouldn't be the first time something new's been fitted and then gone duff, especially considering the owner only used the boat for 20mins in 2012

If I need to I'll go the route of disconnecting the cable both ends and assessing which of the 3 point are stiff (morse control, cable, drive) but for now, I am looking for the obvious stuff without lifting the boat out the wet stuff mate

 

[oGaryo]

The splines for the hand lever are not always aligned in a vertical plane so if you put hem back to back this doubles the problem so check if thy both start aligned in neutral the cable adjustment is not always the same as here may be a difference in backlash due to variations in cable lengths nd number of bends.

thanks again, will do

 

[volvopaul]

thanks Paul, will factor that in and nope, didn't spot it. may still be the cable, wouldn't be the first time something new's been fitted and then gone duff, especially considering the owner only used the boat for 20mins in 2012

If I need to I'll go the route of disconnecting the cable both ends and assessing which of the 3 point are stiff (morse control, cable, drive) but for now, I am looking for the obvious stuff without lifting the boat out the wet stuff mate

You cannot disconnect it drive end without lifting the boat or changing the cable.

Most cables that are stiff soon free off when removed as there not in the same shape .

I've removed cables in the past , laid them out straight and wondered why I've changed it, then fitted the new one for it to be silky smooth.

Ref the drive end, often the shift needs setting up with shims or the cones shoe is worn.

 

[oGaryo]

You cannot disconnect it drive end without lifting the boat or changing the cable.

Most cables that are stiff soon free off when removed as there not in the same shape .

I've removed cables in the past , laid them out straight and wondered why I've changed it, then fitted the new one for it to be silky smooth.

Ref the drive end, often the shift needs setting up with shims or the cones shoe is worn.

yep, understand about the lift out needed Paul, that's the reason for checking out as many options tuther end for now whilst she's in the water. I need to lift the boat at some point soon(ish) to sort out a weeping skin fitting from a depth/speed transducer and a couple of anodes need sorting soon so will take a look at the drive then when I'm ready to have the boat lifted.

incredibly low hours on the engine (140) and the recripts show the drives have been maintained annually by Southern Shipwrights so I can't imagine something's worn to be honest.. little hours and good maintenance doesn't = stuff wearing out. maladjusted maybe but not worn.

does that make sense?

 

[Peanuts]

Hi Gary

Forgot to add in my post that Sealine changed both cables on the boat I refered to but did not notice the lever that was catching against the grp so the problem was still there.

Regarding the difference you have on the leg trim, they should be -4 with the legs trimmed fully in, you probably do not have a problem, just trim the -3 leg fully down and adjust the pot on the steering yoke to read -4. You will probably find it will alter as soon as you touch it, that's what normally happens!

Hope that is of some help.

 

[oGaryo]

not good so far, took the throttle cable off today and no change. Then took the shift cable off and the morse controls move freely so it's either the cable or the drive.

The new cable fitted I notice hasn't been greased (not sure if it should be, yet) at the morse control end and obviously, not able to check the other end until lifted. What was notable is the cable length is longer than the orginal. Took a photo after pulling through the slack and will post up later.

Looking like a lift out job to disconnect at the drive and see if the new cable is duff.. it's been out for one trip since being replaced in Feb of this year.

cheers Gary

 

[oGaryo]

here's the picture showing the extra length of the new grey cable that I've identified with the red blob in comparison to the brown port cable identified with the blue blob. I've pulled the grey cable until the bend in the engine bay is the same for the port and stbd drives.