Maintenance

Workboat

How to avoid freeze trouble in your outboard

Nothing is more dangerous than having your outboard remote controls freeze up just when you need to control the speed or direction of thrust of your motor. r avoid this possibility it’s good advice to check your remote control box and cables.

Start with the control box along side your seat. Unscrew the box to expose the levers and cable end fittings. Using the recommended grease (OMC Type A is ideal) smear grease on everything that moves, slides or pivots! Traces of grease ought to be there to guide you, and don’t be miserly.

A half-inch paint brush is an excellent applicator. The grease comes in a tube but the brush can be used to work it into awkward places.

Re-assemble the box then move to the motor end of the cables. Dis connect them from the motor and remove the end fittings from the cables by loosening the two opposed

screws which clamp the inner wire cable into the end fitting.

To grease the inner wire cables, disconnect both ends, remove the solid inner wire, polish off any rust spots, coat it with grease then replace inside the outer casing.

Grease the brass ferrule that slides inside the plastic fitting, and grease too the threads of the adjustment section, moving the knurled nut along the thread to ease it.

Replace the end fittings, making sure the wire passes through the hole in the brass peg into which the opposing screws fit. Tighten the screws sufficiently to crimp the cable only very slightly.

Too much pressure and the screws will shear the cable. Attach the cable to the motor but don’t attach it to the gearshift lever or throttle arm.

Put the gearshift lever on the engine into “neutral”, then put the remote control cockpit gearshift lever into the neutral position. Adjust the knurled nut on the cable end until the cable fitting comes abreast of the hole in the gearshift lever, then con nect the cable to the lever.

Put the cockpit lever into “forward” then detach the cable from the motor to ensure that the gearshift lever on the motor has gone fully forward and that the propeller is engaged in forward gear.

Replace the cable and repeat this procedure for “reverse”. If all is OK, the adjustment is right.

On the throttle side use the same technique to determine whether the cockpit throttle lever actually moves the throttle arm on the motor from right against the idling stop to the full throttle position. If it doesn’t, adjust the knurled knob until it does.

Many complaints of poor engine performance have been traced to in correct throttle adjustment.