Lubing volvo penta throttle control

[hlev00]

Our shifting is stiff, especially from reverse to neutral. Unfortunately I suspect it is a transmission issue, but before I get that far I want to lubricate the control and replace the cables. They are 15 years old so it seems like a good idea anyway.

The control is a side mount single action.

Greasing the exposed mechanism seems pretty straightforward but I'm wondering if it is possible to get some grease into gears that are encased. I see an allen plug that looks a lot like the plug on my MaxProp that can take a zerc fitting. I've also read that there might be a way to adjust the "drag" on the control lever so maybe it is for that. When I tighten it though I don't detect any difference in how the shifter moves. Does anyone know if this is supposed take a zerk fitting? Normally adding grease through a zerc results in grease being forced out somewhere else. If its for a zerc where would the excess grease be forced out?

For changing the cables the cotter pins are nicely tucked away. I'm guessing I should unscrew the control from the pedestal (and remove what looks like an entire tube of silicone) to get better access to the cotter pins. There is a screw that looks like it could removed to disconnect the plate holding the throttle.

Thanks,
Harry

Attachment 1

[tkeithlu]

It really sounds like a cable problem, not a shift lever problem. Further, it sounds like someone has tried mightily to lubricate the cable. I reccomend that you disconnect the cable at the transmission end, and see if the shift lever moves smoothly, before messing with the transmission.

A drag adjustment on a cable is usually there to stop a spring-loaded cable such as a throttle from returning to zero when you let go. A transmission cable should just snick into forward, neutral, and reverse.

[tkeithlu]

In all likelihood your transmission runs on gear oil or hydraulic fluid, not grease.

[hlev00]

Thanks for the input.

Right now on the hard with the transmission connected or disconnected it seems not too terrible. We notice it more when underway which is why it feels like it could end up being a transmission issue. I just don’t know how smooth it should be. I suspect it has gotten stiffer gradually over the years, like the frog in water that gradually gets hotter.

Grease I was referring to was on the control, not the transmission.

I was thinking it might be useful to disconnect the cables from the control end too and see what the control feels like with nothing attached. Access is a pain but that’s just par for the course on I sailboat.

[tkeithlu]

I apologize for the snarky comment. Yeah, it's likely to be the cable. Is that actuallly a plug, or is it the set screw holding the lever in place on the shaft?

[hlev00]

Late reply. I missed yours.

It isn’t a set screw. There is another on the shifter itself. It seems too small for a zerc fitting. It may be for adjusting the amount of drag on the control but it doesn’t seem to make much difference.

[Tikitour]

Hi I am noticing a very similar problem on my Volvo Penta shifter. When I go into reverse it is very sticky and the further I push the throttle the stiffer it gets. Anyone have any ideas? Is it a problem in the cabling or something in the gearbox?

[Dalestr]

These 33x type control cables are sealed and permanently lubed.
I see a different issue perhaps for shifting from reverse to neutral as some may use reverse to lock a fixed blade prop from spinning under sail. That can work the cone clutch very tightly together from the prop torque constantly varying while sailing. This can make it quite hard to release from reverse. Yanmar has put out warnings that using reverse to lock prop on their manual gearboxes is not allowed if the prop has fixed blades. You must let it spin or use a shaft lock or change propeller type. That said I think the issue is mainly for those gears with cone clutches rather than those with the multi disc design like Hurth boxes. Hurth/ZF has no such restriction for their units. They recommend reverse as forward gear would be harmful.

[Dalestr]

Much the same warning from Volvo Penta regarding many manual gearboxes and sail drives made by them. They also used some Hurth/ZF boxes so not a concern for those