Mercury 50hp throttle control sticking

[Ruari 29]

Hello all, my control is really sticky, I have wd40 the cables and has improved forward but reverse is really sticky. Has anyone dismantled the controls in the picture attached?

[Ruari 29]

Im going to replace the cables but ive been told it could be the washer in the throttle/control

[Jizm]

I take it you have already checked the friction thumbturn on the front?

[Ruari 29]

Yeah didnt make any difference, I think rib was left on mooring to take on water feb/march and hasnt been run since, my hunch because of the green water marks on the inside of transom and it was left afloat all year by previous owners (sailing club). Looks like water level passed bottom of controls hence wanting to strip apart

[Jizm]

Yes, just take it off the console and remove the access plate on the back. This should give enough access to free everything up without stripping it right down.

[uncle al]

you could try, and look under the powerhead at the gear change linkage there should be a spanner size 10mm nut joining two levers together i have known them to vibrate and tighten undo the nut about ONE turn is it easier to operate? if not use a platinunm mercury control cable they are a bit more expensive but worth it let me know how you get on.How old is the obm?
regards
alan

[Ruari 29]

Thanks jizm, will give it a try I didnt know about that pannel. Hi Alan tried that nut no change, Not sure on age.
As you can imagine as previous being a club rescue boat some sailors dont know how to use the controls or the big red button you press to put in gear! The red button now doesn't really work

[uncle al]

if you disconnect the cables at the powerhead end does the controls work freely?if they do it suggests to me it could be a gearhousing problem, the spring behind the plunger in the propeller shaft (probaly), does the obm go into/outof gear manually easily?disconnect the cables from the control box as well, if the control box moves easily replace cables and keep the cable runs as straight as possible.
good luck
alan

[Ruari 29]

Thanks for the reply uncle al, going to disconnect all tomorrow and have a look

[9D280]

Probably a bit late now, but I had a similar problem with my Yam box. Two things to watch out for (hopefully you won't have found out already!) is that the screws holding the box together are likely to break or shear the threads inside befere undoing, and my guess would be a lot of dried grease in there.

Assuming you got it apart OK, bath everything in your favoutrite degreasant, re- lube & problem likely solved. For what it's worth most boxes use the same mechanism, so if it's a total write- off, any controls will do to replace the (mechanical) bits.

You can get a spare set of the plastic bushes for a song or two