Looks like I dodged a bullet

[STeveZ]

I was fooling around with my sticky stbd clutch yesterday. Based on its condition and the abandoned cables still under the helm I just didn't think the problem was in the cable. So I disassembled the shifter. Seemed OK, in fact it seemed like too simple a device to fail or cause problems that were not obvious.

I turned my attention to the rebuilt-last-spring transmission. The shifter arm seemed to have some rust in the pivoting areas. Applied CX. Went back to the helm and shifted it maybe a dozen times and now its smoother than the other one, like butta.

That brings up two questions about this ZF transmission.
1. Should that arm get grease rather than just the CX?
2. How easily can it be disassembled, cleaned and greased? I would assume its a pretty straightforward assembly w/o any kind of springs that may complicate things.

[In Memory of Vicroy]

If its a ZF IRM 220A, the lever is held on with a drift pin....punch the pin out and the lever comes off the shaft....there is a ball detent and spring under there that will fly out if you are not aware of it. Easy fix if you can get to it, but on mine the deck pretty much has to come up to really have access. I just keep the gears shot good with CX HD all the time. The lever is high carbon steel and will rust away if not kept shot up with CX..also the bracket that holds the cable is hi carbon too...I had one of those rust away on me....also the two little high pressure oil parallel tubes on the back of the gear about 2 inches long are hi carbon.....keep them coated with CX as they are a PITA to change. I have bitched to ZF for years at the boat shows about those parts being subject to rust but falls on deaf salesman ears. Shame, snice the gear case is aluminum and it would be so easy to make those three hi carbon parts out of stainless.

UV

[Harv]

I have bitched to ZF for years at the boat shows about those parts being subject to rust but falls on deaf salesman ears. Shame, snice the gear case is aluminum and it would be so easy to make those three hi carbon parts out of stainless.

UV

UV,
Salesmen could not care less about technical stuff....in one ear, out the other.
What you need to do is get in touch with a production tech or supervisor.
Otherwise, it appears all your concerns will fall on deaf ears.