www.iFourWinns.com

Hi, this seemed to be the best place to post this question..

I have a 2006 Horizon 200 with a Volvo Penta 4.3L, and a Volvo Throttle Control, which is causing me a bit of grief.. I will admit, I haven't had the time to perform any investigation yet, so was hoping that someone here could at least point me in the right direction.

Basically, the throttle control is quite stiff/sticky at the speeds used to pull wakeboarders, skiiers, tubers etc..there is no way to go a consistent speed. Pull it back a bit and too slow, push it forward to fast. Also, it takes a darn good pull back to get it into Neutral..so much so that my 13 year old son has difficulty and has to use both hands to yank it back.

Going full throttle isn't an issue at all, until you slow down, and reach that Stiff Area, and you come to a dead stop !..

Any thoughts or ideas what I could look into sure would help !

Thanks in advance

_________________
2005 FourWinns 200
4.3 Volvo Penta GXi
(Picture to follow)

There is a throttle friction adjustment screw oin the shifter, that may be set too tight. However, the difficulty you describe in getting it back into neutral points towards the shift cable. Easy to change if the boat is out of the water, I recommend you go for the TFXtreme cable, it transformed the shift quality on my 2004 boat. There are a few threads about that in here.

Graham

+1 on the Teleflex Xtreme cables - mine is like a hot knife through butter now. I had all sorts of difficulties docking etc. and thought it was the friction control etc. After much mucking around trying various things I replaced the shifter cable and it has just transformed the boat Better than it ever was even when new.

_________________


Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

Thanks gents !

I'll have to find a place in Southern Ontario (Canada) that can get me the part.. I looked into the U.S. locations last night and with Shipping, Duties, Brokerage etc, etc, the cable ends up being double the cost to my door.

So, that said.. I fear my mechanical abilities are failing me.. (long story).. any tips, instruction or diagrams would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks yet again

Stephen

_________________
2005 FourWinns 200
4.3 Volvo Penta GXi
(Picture to follow)

+1 on the install. I would like to do the upgrade too.

_________________
2010 Sea Hunt Triton 220 "Big Whiskey"
2003 FW Freedom 180 Volvo Penta 4.3GL/SX-M "It'll Do Four Now" (Sold)
2012 Avalanche LTZ 4X4

Stephen,

It's pretty straghtforward. this is the way I did mine.

Remove cover on outdrive ( 3 bolts)
Remove split pin and washer connecting cube nut on cable end to shift mechanism .
Unscrew and remove cube nut
Remove clamp securing outer cable to tlt housing ( just slackening it is OK if you prefer)
Access rear of shifter ( my boat is a Sundowner, detail may differ from a Horizon)
Make a note of where lock nut is/ how much inner cable protrudes from outer), then remove cable from shifter
Tape new cable to old at outdrive end, then pull new cable through to shifter
Reassemble, greasing all pivots etc
Adjust at outdrive end before refitting split pin ( shifter/ outdrive in neutral, cube nut pin in mid point in actuator slot)

Graham

+1 top what Graham said - that's exactly how I did mine. I used a cable tie (zip lock?) to join the old and new cables together. Not a big job and did not have to remove the shifter as I could get to it from behind. Should take you an hour or so...

_________________


Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

Thanks Graham, Alec,

I have found a place to order the cable from up here in Ontario.. will keep these directions handy when I get the part.

Thanks again

_________________
2005 FourWinns 200
4.3 Volvo Penta GXi
(Picture to follow)

Ok, I had time to check things out yesterday and I'm not convinced it's the cable..

I opened up the cover on the stern drive, removed the cotter pin and washer, and just let the shifter cable hand loose. My son inside the boat moved the control back and forth, into forward and reverse, and reported no hesitation at all ! It moved quite freely also from what I could see at the back. I reconnected everything back up, and he moved the control back and forth again. Again, no hesitation inside, nor could I see anything binding at the back either. I put everything back together again, but now I'm stumped as to what to do.

I should mention that the above was done with the motor off and not running at all. I'll try again today with the motor running and the 'muffs' on in the driveway and see if the stiffness returns.

That said... any thoughts on what do do next?

-Stephen

_________________
2005 FourWinns 200
4.3 Volvo Penta GXi
(Picture to follow)

I know this doesn't really answer your question, but at 6 years old I still think it would be a good idea to change the cable; they don't last forever, they don't cost that much, and it could conceivably still be related to the problem you've had.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Hello. First post here. Found this topic through a google search. I am having the exact same problem as the OP with uncontrolable throttle response. A slight tough forward is a major speed increase and a slight pull back slows the boat too much. Wakeboarders complain like crazy. I have had to other wakeboard boat drivers run the boat with the same issue. The throttle control is way out of whack. Where to start?

BTW. it shifts like butter. Way better than any Mercruiser I have ever owned.

I had the exact same symptoms on a 40hp outboard.
After many folks looked at it, it was a cam roller that ran inside a cam slot.
The cam roller had a cover over it that had deteriorated and fell off.
The roller looked shiny and new, but there was a dead spot going through the cam motion.

I caught it looking at the cam roller on a web site and could see it had like a 1/16" thick sleeve that was missing. There was slop in the cam slot and a dead spot going up and down in throttle.

Might not be same as you're set up, but if you have a cam and cam roller check it out.

Doug

_________________
2003 Four Winns 170 Freedom Cincinnati, Ohio / Cape Coral, Florida

As a general rule if you have a sticky control issue and you disconnect the cable at one end, if its not sticky then, it's very likely to be a worn out cable. They do wear out and especially the shift cable because the casing flexes where it goes into the outdrive (esp on the SX Volvo which is just like an OMC Cobra in that regard) if you leave the drive UP all the time. If you can store the boat with the drive down, the cable is straighter there and the casing is not as prone to cracks that may let water in and cause problems.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II