Shifter lever and throttle lever stuck

[Rollerized]

Hey guys just bought a 2002 challenger 2000 and I tried moving the throttle lever but it will not budge. The shifter lever is also stuck in neutral. Is there a lock or something I don't know about or the cables/levers frozen? Thx

 

[RFoster130]

I'm not sure about the Mercury powered boats, but on the others, there is an interlock between the shifter and throttle. The throttle has to be all the way down before the boat will shift into neutral. Then once it is in gear, you can't switch it out of gear unless it is back to idle. Check and make sure you are switching them that way.

 

[biffdotorg]

Foster is right. The Mercs had the same lockout. Gotta have a closed throttle before moving the shifer lever.

It does require some fancy lever action when doing sub-moves!

Looks like your first job is to trace that throttle cable and see what is causing it's issues. You may find that once it is freed up, the shifter lever will be fine.

Good luck!

 

[koby6587]

Hey guys just bought a 2002 challenger 2000 and I tried moving the throttle lever but it will not budge. The shifter lever is also stuck in neutral. Is there a lock or something I don't know about or the cables/levers frozen? Thx

On my 2000 challenger i know when it is in neutral you cannot rev it up or increase the throttle until it is in gear Forward or reverse, so i would definitely check you gear cable i don't know a whole lot about it but it must be seized or something.....

 

[koby6587]

Did you end up finding anything out on the issue Rollerized??

 

[Rollerized]

Not yet I tried taking the shifter out but the Allen bolts holding it in are not budging and I don't want to strip them. I'm not sure what else to do.

 

[Rollerized]

Also I think your right about the gear shifter being the problem cause right now it's in N and the throttle seems like it would move but is being stopped by I guess the lock cause it's not in any gear. The shifter handle doesnt want to move at all.

 

[koby6587]

i wonder if the cable is seized or if the bucket is stuck near the jet somehow... try to get some pb blaster on it if its possible and its probably got loctite hope not a permanent style... it should move easy... also what part of new york are you from? Best wishes!!

 

[Rollerized]

Thx I'll try that. I'm on long island

 

[igneous]

Sounds like you have the same problem I had when I got mine. I had to really force them and I weigh 220 lbs. Boat had been neglected after in salt water and the plastic spacers in the nozzle and reverse bucket expanded, and were too tight and I could barely move by throttle/gear levers. Pull them off from back of jet and get dremel tool or file and sand down the plastic pieces until the bolts move freely in them. Don't take the boat out until you do this, as levers don't move freely and it's dangerous! Enjoy the boat, you'll love the merc reliability!

 

[koby6587]

Sounds like you have the same problem I had when I got mine. I had to really force them and I weigh 220 lbs. Boat had been neglected after in salt water and the plastic spacers in the nozzle and reverse bucket expanded, and were too tight and I could barely move by throttle/gear levers. Pull them off from back of jet and get dremel tool or file and sand down the plastic pieces until the bolts move freely in them. Don't take the boat out until you do this, as levers don't move freely and it's dangerous! Enjoy the boat, you'll love the merc reliability!

good call!!! yeah i went to the back of my challenger and i can push the bucket upwards fairly easy making it go from neutral to forward postion changing the lever in the front but from the back of the boat easy.. good luck

 

[Rollerized]

I took the cover off of the shifter and sprayed some anti seize on it. I let that sit a little and worked the shifter til it loosened up. I can now shift it in all gears. Hopefully I can change out the interior and add a second battery before boating weather arrives. Thx again for everyone's help!