300 Marlin Throttle Cable Replacement

[Goose]

Last trip out my starboard motor wouldn’t go above 3k RPM and sometimes less than that. Luckily it was the end of the trip and we were inside of a mile from the dock. Throttle seemed “off”. A small amount of troubleshooting and found my throttle cable is done. I researched another post and reached out to Grady White for the cable length and recommended cable.

My question is, can I do the throttle and shift cables on both motors in a reasonable amount of time? Shops are booked up for the next week atleast and they all quote 3 hours labor. I’m thinking a full day of work to get it done.

 

[seasick]

If you have done the job before, you probably can do it but there are some tricks.
Number one is taking apart the control carefully while documenting and taking pictures of everything as you disassemble. Some parts may fall out since some may be held in place by the side covers.
You will benefit from pulling a couple of small diameter cords through the rigging tube as you remove the old cables. They can be used to pull new cables.
If you get lucky, you may be able to pull the new cables using the old. It depends on how much spare space there is in the rigging tube.
It may take two sets of hands to push/pull cables and depending on your layout you may need to remove some panels or inserts.

I am curious how you determined that the cable is bad. Make sure that the clamp that holds the cable to the motor is not broken or loose

 

[Goose]

If you have done the job before, you probably can do it but there are some tricks.
Number one is taking apart the control carefully while documenting and taking pictures of everything as you disassemble. Some parts may fall out since some may be held in place by the side covers.
You will benefit from pulling a couple of small diameter cords through the rigging tube as you remove the old cables. They can be used to pull new cables.
If you get lucky, you may be able to pull the new cables using the old. It depends on how much spare space there is in the rigging tube.
It may take two sets of hands to push/pull cables and depending on your layout you may need to remove some panels or inserts.

I am curious how you determined that the cable is bad. Make sure that the clamp that holds the cable to the motor is not broken or loose

I’ve changed a throttle cable on an F-16 but never on a boat. Tips like yours are what I’m looking for. The starboard throttle has started to not move as free as the port. This morning I moved both throttles through the full range of motion and the starboard one felt and sounded like there was some friction both in and near the handle and the motor. I did loosen the set screw on the throttle to make sure that wasn’t causing the binding. I took the little access cover off the motor and that’s what the picture is of. I didn’t bother looking at the port side condition. Figured if I’m doing one I may as well do them all.

 

[seasick]

If you feel along the sheath of the cable especially near the motor and feel something other than smooth, the internal cable sheath is probably corroded. Same thing goes for bending; If the cable bends OK in most areas but sort of doesn't at a particular spot , that section is also probably corroded inside.

 

[Goose]

If you feel along the sheath of the cable especially near the motor and feel something other than smooth, the internal cable sheath is probably corroded. Same thing goes for bending; If the cable bends OK in most areas but sort of doesn't at a particular spot , that section is also probably corroded inside.

I posted a picture of the cable where it goes into the motor. The sheath is rusted and busted open.

 

[seasick]

I didn't click on that until now.. That is about as bad as I've seen

 

[Hookup1]

I was totally intimidated doing all four cables on my 268 Islander. Wasn't that bad at all. As Seasick said you need photos of the binnacle disassembly including how far the cables are threaded on. Do your adjustments on the motor end.

The cables are marked. Buy the better grade made by Teleflex. You're looking for the Teleflex TRXtreme cables. Cut tie wraps and lift binnacle up to see in the markings are on this end. If not you will have to pull one out of the motor and pull it back. Don't guess length - figure out what they are. Grady CS has not been reliable and told me the wrong length.

I made a coupling out of a plastic Lowes part to couple cables and use one cable to pull the other. I don't like/use pull strings - the old cable clears a path for the new one. Pull string get wrapped around. I had a helper for one cable but was able to do the remainder by myself!

I did several posts but this one is the only one I could quickly find. Look for others.

Throttle cables

Hey guys, my throttles are not in sync and while that is not a huge issue, I want to plan on replacing those with some quality throttle lines. Rather than find new ones and just install them and then find out later I wanted something else, any suggestions on what you would swap them with? Not...

www.greatgrady.com

 

[seasick]

The cables are now Seastar Xtreme. Seastar bought Teleflex.