J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment engine control replacement

I'm looking for some advice on replacing the entire engine control unit. Mine got stiffer and stiffer until it finally froze in place. I assumed it was the cable, but it isn't. I took it all apart, lubed it up like crazy, and expected to find some sort of misalignment or spurr causing the problem. There was nothing visible. I finally broke down and asked the yard guy for his advice, and he said the unit needed to be replaced.

I saw the post from Bob Rude and the model he used, but I am wondering what is the criteria for selecting one other than a dual function side mount? The cables are 33C, correct? If the unit fits those cables, are there other considerations that can't be dealt with via sawzall? (the obvious fit problem)

How daunting a process is this? I'm pretty mechanically inclined so I am hoping to leave the yard out of this. Advice?

Thanks,
Teresa

Teresa,

I would call Torensen Marine - 231-759-8596. They have solved many of my issues with the Yanmars. They my have a suggestion.

David
#397

Teresa,

Since you've already checked the cables, the problem has to be in the control assembly or at the engine & transmission. Verify the throttle and shift lever at the engine / transmission operate freely without the cables connected. I suspect you may have a problem in the control unit. I had a similar problem on Rhapsody. I ended up disassembling the control unit. There were places where grease had become tar and dry surfaces with lots of friction. A wire brush, solvent and coating all the parts with fresh grease fixed the problem. The knob that is used to disengage the transmission is connected to a shaft that goes through the center of the controls. This shaft is a path for water into the control and should be well greased before reassembly. Watch for the little spring loaded ball bearing that fits into recessed dimples to give positive indication that the shift lever is in the correct position. I had to go bilge diving head first to find that little rascal when I pulled the assembly apart.

Good Luck!
Bill
Rhapsody #348

Bill,

Thank you so much for your reply. I, too, took the whole thing apart, and greased it to within an inch of it's life, but it seems that I am missing that "spring loaded ball bearing". I have been staring at those dimples, knowing they had to be purposeful, but all the yards just shrug.

I can't find it anywhere, so I am not sure how it came out, but, any ideas on where I can get one, or is it just hopeless?

Also, the model number that I saw written on line doesn't seem to correspond to any numbers that I can find on the unit. Does anyone know what that number is?

Thanks so much,
Teresa

Aha! - That little ball bearing also stops the plates from turning when they're not supposed to. I bet that is your binding problem. If the plates move out of sequence, the gears "fight" each other. I don't know the exact diameter of the ball bearing. Maybe take the dimpled plate to a hardware store or local machine shop that might have ball bearings and see what fits in the curvature of the dimple on the plate. Pick up a couple smaller & larger too, then see if it works. Nothing to loose but your time and sanity. Regarding part numbers - I don't have a clue. There was no part number visible on the assembly I took apart. I wanted a number to try and find a replacement control in case I couldn't repair the old one. I was looking at the Morse CH2100 or SL-3 side mount as a potential replacement. Not exactly the same as the original, but both looked like they would fit in the space and use the same cables.

Bill

Bill,

The plot thickens...turns out the spring was wedged into the hole, and the ball was actually retrieved this morning. I'm not sure why I didn't find it the other 7 times I looked, but..hey...

So, I seem to have all the parts, but they don't seem to go together. For the sake of discussion, there are two gears on the "back" of the unit (the half that connects to the cables), and 2 gears that go on the "front" of the unit (the part that mounts on the boat. The large gear on the "back" doesn't come off, and the small gear appears to only be able to go on one way (well, two, but they are symetrical). On the "front", the small gear appears to line up with the large gear in the back, and then the large gear (with the dimples) goes on top of that. The ball and spring are against the housing, not between the gears. (right?)

The question is that it seems like the flat part of the large gear on the front is too big...it seems like the gears can't engage...

I'm confusing myself and I'm looking at the damn thing.

I guess my question is, do you have any sketch, photo, diagram or anything about how those go on correctly, as something clearly isn't aligned, but no one seems to be able to figure out what.

Thanks for your help...this has become like the rubics cube for me, and I'm going crazy...

Teresa

Teresa,

I'd be working from a foggy memory to try and sketch something intelligible. Can you sketch or photo the piece parts and send them to me? My email is in the header. I could probably tell you how they fit back together with a picture of the parts.

Bill

IT'S DONE!!!!

It's back together and working, and I am a very happy camper. Except that I am looking at my second night of re-bedding thru-hulls. That old adhesive stuff is nasty. One down, one to go.

Who knew owning a boat would be so much fun...

Glad to see you got the engine control fixed without having to get a new one. Good luck with the rebedding. Get it all back together, then sail up LI Sound to Newport!