Linkage Question

[Charlie]

I am having a problem with the linkage that connects the gear shift lever to the transmission. Went to put it in reverse the other day and it was difficult. Slipped it down into forward and it got real easy. Luckily we were still tied to the dock b/c the cable end sheared. This is the fifth time that I have fixed this problem. I had a prefoessional repair it once and we made some adjustments to the levers in the binnacle and everything worked fine for a few months. Then the cable would break. The first four times it broke inside the binnacle. This time it broke where it attaches to the transmission. It looks like the morse cable bent and finally broke.

There are no stops on my gear shift lever. Could this be part of my problem? Am I pushing down on the gear shift lever and then applying too much pressure to the cable and it starts to bend and eventuyally this weakens it and cause the cable to break? I know how to make it work again but at $40 bucks a pop and an hour of work it is getting my frustration level up. Sofar I have been lucky and have not hit anything b/c of the loss of gear control but I can see where it would happen.

Also was wondering about the name of the piece that attaches to the end of the Morse and then is attached to the gear shift lever on the transmission. Does anyone know the name of this piece so I can try to find a new one?

Any ideas?

[Charlie]

Ok I found out the name of the items etc. The end fitting is the Terminal Eye. I think I need to find out the amount of throw on the cable and then make sure that my lever splits the throw evenly. From there I imagine stops would be bood for the gear lever. This would allow for a particuilar location for the gear shift lever to end and then I could adjust the cble accordingly.

[motion30]

The cable has a standard 3'' throw

[Sandero]

Those cables come in 1" increments. Yours is probably constrained and could be too long and causing a kink perhaps?

[Charlie]

I have eliminated any hard curves. The cable is 12" longer than I wanted but 8' is all htat they had. I have it laid in nice soft curves so I don' thtink that the problem is in the cable but it is in the adjustment from the dual station cable clip to the linkage and perhaps the throw to the transmission lever. I could be wrong but there are no hard bends at all in the cable.

[Chief Engineer]

Are you using the right sized cable?

Many times the shifter cable is much beefier than the throttle cable due to the forces needed to move the trans lever.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

Are you using the right sized cable?

Many times the shifter cable is much beefier than the throttle cable due to the forces needed to move the trans lever.

Hey Chief:

They are both the same size. I believe they are series 30 Morse cables. I could go up to a series 40 if you thought it would be better but there never is a lot of pressure on the cable when I shift. Is it worth going to the bigger cable on a 56 hp engine?

[Chief Engineer]

If it is breaking inside the pedestal...I would surmise that that end is not anchored properly. If the cable is not anchored and just depends on the anchor point at the trans, it is going to ove too much and eventually bend or break. Both ends of morse cables must be anchored.

[Talbot]

How easy is it to shift the gear lever directly by hand? The problem may be inside the gearbox itself on the gear selector. attempting gear change directly at the gear box will discover if this is needing excessive force.

[bill good]

Had something like this with my Yanmar 1GMS & found there was a spring loaded end that was missing from both engines.

Regards Bill

[GordMay]

Teleflex-Morse have excellent on-line Controls & Cables instruction manuals at
➥ Teleflex Marine - // Teleflex Marine, A World Leader in Marine Products.

Some typical problem areas:
Clips (secure & distance from terminal)
Bends (miimum radius > 8")
Throw (3" or 4" linkage)

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

If it is breaking inside the pedestal...I would surmise that that end is not anchored properly. If the cable is not anchored and just depends on the anchor point at the trans, it is going to ove too much and eventually bend or break. Both ends of morse cables must be anchored.

It is not breaking inside the pedestal anymore. It has i the past but I think I resolved that problem. The pedestal is a Edson and whilte there is nothing at the end of the cable there is a clip inside that attaches the red cables to the pedestal. Is this enough?

Originally Posted by Talbot

How easy is it to shift the gear lever directly by hand? The problem may be inside the gearbox itself on the gear selector. attempting gear change directly at the gear box will discover if this is needing excessive force.

I tried that and I can shift gears easily with just my fingers.

Originally Posted by bill good

Had something like this with my Yanmar 1GMS & found there was a spring loaded end that was missing from both engines.

Regards Bill

Thanks Bill I will check my manual when I get to the boat and see if any springs are missing. It is easy to shift by hand so I doubt that that is the problem but I will check.

Originally Posted by GordMay

Teleflex-Morse have excellent on-line Controls & Cables instruction manuals at
➥ Teleflex Marine - // Teleflex Marine, A World Leader in Marine Products.

Some typical problem areas:
Clips (secure & distance from terminal)
Bends (miimum radius > 8")
Throw (3" or 4" linkage)

Thanks Gord.
I will look into the installation instructions and use my tape measure to see if all the clips etc. are in the correct place.

[Chief Engineer]

I have seen some yanmars with a spring loaded terminal end (ball and socket)on the throttle....I have also seen them on the trans lever.....It is a Yanmar part.

Also: when in neutral the cable should be 90 degrees to the lever.

Sometimes the cables are mounted improperly and there is a binding/awkward"throw" of the cable end....resulting in too much flexing.

Do you have a manual?

[Charlie]

Hi Chief. I do have a manual. I won't make it down tot he boat for a couple of weeks so I will study up on the manual. I have a Yanmar 4JH4E. There have been muliple problems with this linkage. Starting with the cable binding in the pedestal and after "fixing" that a couple of times I now have a problem at the transmission. I should understand this pretty well by the time I have it fixed correctly. LOL The pages Gord refered me to are very helpful. I will post pictures when I take them.

[Charlie]

Ok after looking at the alignment on the transmission linkage I think that the guys who installed the engine mounted the bracket for the Morse cable on the wrong side of the arm. by mounting iton the outboard side it creates a bend on the linkage that would not be there if the bracket was mounted on the other side of the arm.