The throttle position to engage reverse appears to be very far into the travel. It has made getting into reverse with small amount of thrust difficult. I don't have a picture but the position for engagement is somewhere near 60 deg of the travel.
Is this normal for Mercruiser Alpha I/O drives in the 1988 Santego 30? If not, what would I start looking into adjusting? Is this a cable age, cable maintenance issue? Is it reasonable to start looking into this issue while boat is still in the water?
1988 Santego 30 - Throttle position to engage reverse is very very far back
-
theorifice
- Scurvy Dog
- Posts: 41
- Joined: July 31st, 2022, 1:28 pm
- Vessel Info: 1987 Carver Santego 30
- Location: Chicago
- Has thanked: 16 times
- Been thanked: 4 times
1988 Santego 30 - Throttle position to engage reverse is very very far back
Fun times on the 1988 Carver Santego 30
-
Viper
- CYO Supporter
- Posts: 6266
- Joined: July 10th, 2015, 9:58 pm
- Vessel Info: 1989 Carver 3807 Aft Cabin
- Location: Ontario, Canada
- Has thanked: 475 times
- Been thanked: 1791 times
Re: 1988 Santego 30 - Throttle position to engage reverse is very very far back
Your lower cable adjustment could be off or you may need a new lower cable which is pretty common on Merc sterndrives. I'd try going through the process of a proper adjustment first and if that doesn't solve the problem then it'll likely be a hall out, drive removal, and cable replacement. You don't want to operate this way for too long as shift gears at higher than idle will shorten the life of the drive's clutch if not break it. I'm sure there are YouTube videos on Alpha cable adjustment.
Does the drive go into forward at idle or do you have to advance the shifter above idle before it will engage also?
Does the drive go into forward at idle or do you have to advance the shifter above idle before it will engage also?
-
theorifice
- Scurvy Dog
- Posts: 41
- Joined: July 31st, 2022, 1:28 pm
- Vessel Info: 1987 Carver Santego 30
- Location: Chicago
- Has thanked: 16 times
- Been thanked: 4 times
Re: 1988 Santego 30 - Throttle position to engage reverse is very very far back
Forward seems to react as expected with regards to position. The action feels really stiff though. If I pull out the levers (to adjust throttle while in neutral) the levers feel smooth in both forward reverse directions.
Fun times on the 1988 Carver Santego 30
-
uchu
- Deck Hand
- Posts: 77
- Joined: August 25th, 2020, 8:02 am
- Vessel Info: 1988 Carver Santego 2767 - Twin Mercruisers 4.3LX with Alpha-One drives
- Location: Ontario
- Has thanked: 86 times
- Been thanked: 15 times
Re: 1988 Santego 30 - Throttle position to engage reverse is very very far back
I went through this with our Santego last season. Very stiff cables (possibly the original ones!). Cables were changed and adjusted and it made a ton of difference. I have to say, though, that reverse feels a bit longer in the controller levers to kick in, compared to forward, but definitely not 60 degrees. I'd say, in my case, somewhere between 30 and 45 degrees.
-
theorifice
- Scurvy Dog
- Posts: 41
- Joined: July 31st, 2022, 1:28 pm
- Vessel Info: 1987 Carver Santego 30
- Location: Chicago
- Has thanked: 16 times
- Been thanked: 4 times
Re: 1988 Santego 30 - Throttle position to engage reverse is very very far back
Thanks for sharing your experience. Did you change the lower cables too or just the run from the controller to the transmission?
Fun times on the 1988 Carver Santego 30
-
uchu
- Deck Hand
- Posts: 77
- Joined: August 25th, 2020, 8:02 am
- Vessel Info: 1988 Carver Santego 2767 - Twin Mercruisers 4.3LX with Alpha-One drives
- Location: Ontario
- Has thanked: 86 times
- Been thanked: 15 times
Re: 1988 Santego 30 - Throttle position to engage reverse is very very far back
Yeah, both lower and upper cables were changed.theorifice wrote:QR_BBPOST Thanks for sharing your experience. Did you change the lower cables too or just the run from the controller to the transmission?
Sponsors