Throttle lever pressed against pedestal guard ...

[Scott T-Bird]

I replaced my pedestal guard last year. With all my distractions last year, I've failed to notice when my rpm's no longer reach max output.

My engine now just putters along at barely over 2000 rpm when the lever hits the guard. Is the cable slipping and I just need an adjustment? I'm a little confused by this because the minimum is right where it should be at 800 rpm (although I'm now just realizing the stop is set that way - so it can't go lower). There seems to be some slack in the cable. Am I missing something else? The new pedestal guard is a different shape and the diameter is slightly greater, too. That shouldn't have made so much difference, but I was surprised when I put the levers back on how close it comes to the guard when pressed fully forward (well, now it's totally pressed up against it). There is no way to adjust the lever fitting on the pedestal ,,, Edson pedestal (old style) - separate levers for tranny and throttle.

 

[dmax]

When I replaced the throttle and gear shift levers on my boat with SS ones, the throttle would hit the guard as the new ones were longer and wider at the top. I was able to bend the throttle lever (increasing the angle of the original bend) pretty easily in a vice with wood blocks to protect the metal. Fixed it for me.

 

[Richard19068]

Is there no adjustment on the engine end of the cable?

 

[Tally Ho]

Is the geometry on the new guard different so that the throttle hits it? As I recall, the old pedestal was offset. What is the new one? Photos? If the throttle lever needed to move 90 degrees to WOT and now you can only move it 30 degrees because it hits the guard….you wouldn’t need us to comment..



I once lost my ability to shift the transmission out of REV and it turned out I pulled the cable out of the cable clamp, so the cable shield was moving instead of moving the transmission lever. Could the linkage have been moved or removed or something?

Greg

 

[Scott T-Bird]

The only time I remember removing the cable from the linkage was over the winter in 2020 / 2021. I did so because I was replacing engine parts. I don't recall noticing anything different until I changed the pedestal guard before the start of 2023, but that season ended abruptly for me and I don't recall much of anything. I never really even noticed the original position of the lever relative to the old guard. Right now, the lever hits the guard on the vertical tube below the angle. I had an offset guard before but I have to think that it was originally below the offset, so there shouldn't be any difference.

Tomorrow, I'm going to dis-assemble the cable from the linkage and see if I can tighten it up to make a difference. We'll see ..... It seems to me that when I first splashed the boat a few weeks ago, I was revved up to close to 3000 rpm when the lever hit the guard. Now it's barely over 2000, so I think it has to a loosening connection at the linkage.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Before you do that, I’d suggest you simply remove the handle and try revving up by turning a locking plier gripping the linkage axle. If that eliminates the problem, you pretty much know the cause.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

It turns out to be a very easy fix ... I didn't realize that the cable needs to be clamped in just the right position. Once I clamped it down correctly (it had worked loose) and made fine adjustments at the linkage, all was as it should be!

 

[kappykaplan]

Well done, Scott!!