yamaha 704 controls

[RonG]

I have 1999 150's. Getting the boat ready I noticed the shift and throttle controls were tighter than last year. Port side tighter than starbord. Tension screws are loose. I searched and found lots of info on getting them tighter BUT how do I get them looser? Is there a way to lube the box? thanks Ronny

[silver01]

I have twin 150 also and I had the same problem. Under the carbs where the shift lick is at the is a zerk fitting, it has to be grease. I loosed up mines by just greasing it and moving the controls foward and backwards until it got soft. The shifter is probably a little frozen with rust or something and it has to be worked out. Kind of like old pliers that haven been use in a while.

[RonG]

silver01
thanks for the idea. I greased the shift shafts in the fall (tough spot) but a little more grease can't hurt!
thanks Ronny

[kbcone]

You may be getting toward the end of the cable service life,ie rusting inside the cable housing.
There is a new Premier II Yamaha cable recently released. There are Teleflex premium ones also.
Both are pretty slick.
You could disconnect the shift cable at the engine and see if it still binds via the 704 remote control.
You can also rotate shift shaft at the engine. Easier engine running.

[silver01]

Like I said grease and work the throttles back and foward, it worked for me. Also what kbcone said disconnect it and see if it is the cable or the engine link. I did that first but forgot to mention it to you.