Teleflex style single lever control

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Swanrad2

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Morning,

On the ongoing saga of engine renewal we started work yesterday on the controls/cables etc (engine is an ME11C). The neutral select/safety button on the Telefex type engine control is jammed in and we cannot free it so we started to take the thing out to see if it can be sorted on the bench. Hours of knocking, pushing and head scratching later it is still stuck in the bulkhead with the button jammed in its hole.

I get the feeling this is one of those items that when its gone its gone - buy and fit a new one. Anyone got any thoughts/experience with the things?

Ta
 
Had a similar experience middle of this year - sailing north of Skye but as wind dropped decided to use the iron genoa.
button jammed in so we were contemplating manual control of the engine from below - hardy ideal, but very traditional with orders being barked to the engine room by the skipper !!

No doubt there are various configurations.
mine has a white plastic button under the rubber cover that disappears into a hole.
No obvious access from the rear with complete disassembly.
We sprayed old old WD40 at it and let it rest a while then tapped the back of the housing with a hammer (gently !) whilst poking the plastic bit with a sharp object.
The combination of these actions sprang the thing out and it has behaved well ever since.

But thanks for the reminder - need to have a look at it this winter

Martin
 
Swanrad2 said:
The neutral select/safety button on the Telefex type engine control is jammed in and we cannot free it
Click to expand...

Does it still have the plastic cover on it? If so, these swell in time and get jammed. Cut the button away, and you're left with a brass(?) button which should pop in and out easily when lubricated with a squirt of WD40.
 
Nope, no plastic cover - its disappeared into its hole and even with firm tapping and release agent it won't pop back out. It used to be second nature but the out position for the button is 'in gear' is it not?

Don't really mind replacement costs, it is the complexity if the job that worries me,
 
Swanrad2 said:
Nope, no plastic cover - its disappeared into its hole and even with firm tapping and release agent it won't pop back out. It used to be second nature but the out position for the button is 'in gear' is it not?
Click to expand...

So all you can see is the head of the metal button inside the hole in the handle? There should be enough clearance around it to wiggle it out with a pair of tweezers, after a squirt of WD40. The button is pressed in to disengage the gearshift.
 
pvb said:
So all you can see is the head of the metal button inside the hole in the handle? There should be enough clearance around it to wiggle it out with a pair of tweezers, after a squirt of WD40. The button is pressed in to disengage the gearshift.
Click to expand...

Yes just the metal button visible and wiggling with chemicals achieves nothing.
 
Swanrad2 said:
Yes just the metal button visible and wiggling with chemicals achieves nothing.
Click to expand...

Some pull and some push to disengage the gear control arm. You may find it is the control mechanism itself rather then just the pin that has seized.
 
At the bottom of the lever is a hex-socket grub screw. If you can get that loosened the lever should pull off the splined shaft (for 'should' read 'should, with luck' :). Then you can get at the button.

If, like mine, the whole assembly is a corroded and worn out ruin, and you decide to buy a new one, try Fox's Chandlery, Ipswich. When I bought one about a year ago Fox's was by far the best price I could find.
 
I had this problem.The red plastic cover had come off as well.I tried WD40 and other sprays and it worked intermittently.When I took the panel off inside the boat the whole system of levers etc were rusty and about to fall apart.
It was the original and was about 25 years old though.As advised above it would be worth taking off to see the problem.
 
As others have stated the button is brass with a soft plastic covering which causes the problem.

I drilled a small hole through the plastic into the brass, inserted a small screw and pulled it out. I can now guarantee to get the button out in extremis! Though once the button was out the plastic sort of fell off so I'm not too worried it will stick again.

In the past I was able to flood the mechanism with diesel to free it. I suspect that the diesel caused the plastic to swell eventually.

I still need to replace the control as it's quite rattly. Though my control is branded Volvo Penta they appear to be made by Teleflex and so available at non VP prices.
 
alahol2 said:
If it's of any help, here are the installation instructions for the TX controls... http://www.troppo.co.uk/odds/TX%20Controls%20B700SS.pdf
Click to expand...

Thank you for this - it is amazing how complex every bit of a boat is when you start taking the thing apart!

The drilling/screwing thing is genius. So I have lubricated, next I will heat, then I will take apart, then I will drill screw, then I will chuck it over the side (into the skip obviously) and buy a new one. One day I will learn to just jump straight to option 5 and save hours, until then.....
 
Swanrad2 said:
...then I will take apart, then I will drill screw, ...
Click to expand...

You can drill with it in place. It's only brass. I used a hand drill.

Agree re replacing. £122 + vat. No brainer. But then you've got all that hassle of adjusting etc.

Might be worth getting it working anyway so that you can note the position of the levers on the gearbox in use.
 
pvb said:
Does it still have the plastic cover on it? If so, these swell in time and get jammed. Cut the button away, and you're left with a brass(?) button which should pop in and out easily when lubricated with a squirt of WD40.
Click to expand...
This exactly what happened to mine
 
I recently bought a new one to replace a broken one after trying to repair that one and another one. At the end of the day I want to be sure my engine controls work properly, I sail in Cardiff and going thru the barrage is not the time to find the engine controls do not work. It is a sealed unit mine was probably 35 years old. Get a new one and have confidence, not that expensive.
 
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