Quicksilver Commander 4000 Throttle Fix

In this video I remove the Quicksilver Commander 4000 pistol throttle from my boat, disassemble it and identify some areas causing a significant amount of throttle cable play at the carburetor. I make some modifications to the assembly to reduce the slop in the components and improve the throttle cable play.

[@BigNickSnr]

I think your video just saved my summer! One of the leads came off my neutral safety switch when I took off the control cables.

[@scottchadbourne4759]

I recently bought a 2004 Crownline project boat and, among several other mechanical issues, have intermittent power trim switch operation and a stuck neutral/high idle button. This video is very informative and much appreciated!

[@cryptalphatrading7336]

I spent all day breaking my head on how the cables have to be laid out until I seen ur video and it solved my issues thanks

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

Glad I could help!!

[@benperez171]

Thank you, Chris. Just want to say thank you for this video. It helped me figure out how to remove it from side panel and check all the parts and greased everything. Thank you.

[@frisiersalongorbach]

Deutsch

[@TheUnderdogg666]

Thank you for your video. I give a big hit on the handle one day and after my boat was shifting forward and reverse but i wasn't able to accelerate. So I was sure the problem came from the control box. Your video helped me to remove the handle and access the control box without being scared to screw everything. Effectively one of the metal arm broke in half. Gone the nearest boat garage found a old control box replace the broken piece. Greased and put everything back together and everything feel brand news or even better than before!

[@prairiebuilder]

Great video Chris. This was very useful when I was starting the installation of a Commander 4000 on my boat. Thank you!

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

prairiebuilder, Glad I could help!

[@TonyPDX87]

Excellent work! I did many of the same mods to my commander 3000 classic. My box was slightly different, but I had wear in all the same areas and was able to create shims, much like what you did. I did take it all the way apart, to fully remove the old grease. If you go into it that far you have to keep an eye on the ball bearing, leaf springs and roller so they don’t disappear. I also pressure cleaned/lubed the cables which made the whole thing a bit smoother. Lots of videos on line on how to do that.

[@petermack5525]

Thanks! I have very limited access to the back of my control box but now know how to remove it without breaking anything!!!

[@dennissytsma3561]

Outstanding work, thanks for making this video!

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

Glad I could help!

[@craigbarnett3351]

Thanks! Didn’t want to buy a new one size fits all throttle and spend a whole day tweeking it into adjustment. I’ll try this instead!

[@benjuliebenjulie7414]

thanks for the video it helped me alot!

[@rrose002]

I have a throttle with trim and I think this is the only video that shows how to remove it for inspection...Thank you

[@user-ym9wb2mk5e]

I have the Commander 3000 (precursor to your 4000 model) in a 1998 Nitro bass boat. The 3000 controllers are no longer produced, replacement parts are expensive if you can find them. The problem is the shaft and detent mechanism can wear out. If the detent ball bearings get stuck (to engage just the throttle), they will damage the actual housing race. They made some improvements with the 4000 series, hopefully the shaft and race are stronger.

[@halmain7406]

Good video

[@mtsaz100]

ironically I have been playing with the exact same issue- with my commander 4000 gen 2 controls on my 115hp optimax outboard. I put the throttle down, and the RPMs shoot up to 5500 and i get going about 45 mph, and then I notice that the rpms are 5200 and I'm down to 40 and so I push the throttle down and it has about 1/2 inch of play at the high end. ON the other side of that control box is a friction nut- I tightened it and I greased it up with mercury grease- I was going to use park bike grease but anyway. I still have slop- in the controls and on the motor end. I think I will do the bushing and the spacer next- and maybe get new controls. Preferably something much simpler.

[@jonathanscheurich]

Thank you!!

[@sambaker709]

Nice video!!! Only have a question. I've replaced my cables but when in forward gear I only get half throttle and full throttle in reverse. I have the cables fastened to the lower control posts. Should they be on the upper? I have a 93 Pro Craft with the same shifter as you show.. Thanks for the help.

[@saljudeh]

Thank you, its a lot of help for me. I have the courage now to take it apart mine is really hard to shift on the reverse.

[@thepredatorstrikesagainaka1949]

Am having the same problem it’s really hard to shift sometimes it get stuck in gear

[@saljudeh]

Humberto Sosa i took it apart. Clean and greas. It works well now.

[@thepredatorstrikesagainaka1949]

Abu Kareem did you have to put that stainless spacers or that stainless plate ?

[@saljudeh]

Humberto Sosa Just took it out cleaned it and put it back together didn't have to replace anything

[@thepredatorstrikesagainaka1949]

Thank you so much I truly appreciate it have a great weekend

[@bobparker2355]

Very clear guide thanks. Having problems with a very stiff throttle which makes it very difficult to increase or decrease revs smoothly. Although I appreciate that there can be a number of causes for this problem, can simply adjusting the friction nut help. I ask because I have been told that these units are pre-set (the friction) and cannot be adjusted. It looks to me like they can! I would appreciate your input before I attempt to solve this problem. Thanks again.

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

Bob Parker, it's absolutely worth it to try adjusting that nut first.. It would be an easy fix if that was the cause. Good luck!

[@mtsaz100]

bob, I know where the nut is- do you need help? [e-mail]

[@francoiskotze7878]

hi Chris.... question for you.. i have the same control box.. everything is working well accept that when i go to neutral it doesnt click in ... only way to get it clicking into neutral is when i press the throttle only button in and then pull the control into neutral.. any advice as i cant get any info on the internet.. regards

[@greatrides]

Good video, very helpful to see it all laid out. I have a 3000, it works the same way with some hardware differences. I see lots of people struggle with the neutral button. I put the lever where the drive was in reverse but no throttle. A small screwdriver on one side of the button, a pick on the other. Steady, even pressure and it popped right out. I was seeking to eliminate some friction when shifting forward but discovered that the cables are the problem. I decided to leave the control box as it was except for re-greasing with Lucas Marine. Although there is some slop (less than you had) I decided it wasn't worth going after since it works smoothly.and still gets full throttle no problem! I was wondering though if you still had this boat and control, and if your stainless steel shim held up? Maybe when I replace the cables later this year I will give it a try then.

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

I sold the boat a few years ago. When I sold it, it was still working perfectly.

[@benjiarehart2878]

I know this video was made a couple years ago. The video was really well done. It helped me tremendously. You have an engineer mind, and MacGyver mentality, very impressive. I've got the same exact shifter. My issue is, the throttle stop button stays stuck in, (won't pop out). The boat will not start because of this, I'm assuming. . I took the button out a few times, and put it back in, press it in, each time, but it will not pop back out. I'm thinking the inner spring has lost its strength. Am I thinking right? Can you tell me, if that is what I should replace, or is there something else I should be looking at?. Any help would be greatly appreciated., Thx, Ben.

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

Hi Ben, When you say throttle stop, you are talking about the button at the top of the handle - where you hold the throttle - correct? If so, then I think your thought about the spring is probably correct (hard to know without seeing it to be sure), but I don't think that would affect the starting of the engine. The starter kill switch is only triggered when the shifter lever in the controller box is moved from neutral - not based on the button position. An easy way to tell if the starter problem is related to your "Neutral Kill Switch" is to trace them to where they connect to the main wiring harness and just unplug them and short the connectors in the main harness together. If the boat starts, then your problem is related to the neutral kill switch and you can work on just debugging that. Good luck!

[@illuminationsusa6040]

Hi Ben, Did you ever find a way of fixing the throttle stop. I'm having the same issue.

[@frozencold3613]

Chris, thank you for posting this video. It was very helpful. I know this is an old thread but hopefully you still check comments. It seems my neutral button is stuck in my controller. I’ve been trying to use a screw driver and Allen wrench to pick it out but it’s still not coming out. Is there a position the controller handle needs be set in order to get that button out? Since I started to try to pick out the button, pressing the button no longer engages throttle only feature. I can only operate the handle by moving it in and out of gear. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

Hi FrozenCold, as you can see in the video, I had to resort to my home-made 90 degree screwdriver pry tool. It takes a little bit of force and a tool that will dig into it - which is why the allen keys aren't working. It does sound like you may have busted the shaft of the button though, so I would go and order a replacement button, and then you don't need to worry about being more aggressive with removing the existing one. One you get the button out you should be able to have straight forward access to the bolt, even if the shaft of the neutral button is broken. I can't recall why I put the unit in gear before removing the button and I no longer have that boat, so it's been a while, but obviously it works if it's in gear. If it helps, you can find the complete service manual here: www.scribd.com/doc/76275169/Merc-Controls-Newest-Manual Good luck!

[@StarsAndStripers]

Thanks for responding Chris and thanks for posting the manual. I contacted Mercury and got my question answered. It turns out this controller works different from my old controller. You have to press the shift and throttle only buttons at the same time to disengage the shifting mechanisms. My old controller I just pressed the throttle only button to disengage the shifting mechanism to operated throttle only. After that the button popped out easily. I installed the controller and new cables over the weekend and everything is working again. Good luck with the new boat (assuming you purchased one).

[@bicciera21]

Can anyone tell me the size of the spanner to use to tighten the friction control nut for the Mercury 4000 gen II as jI have to adjust this with the controlbox fixed onto the driving console in place and I can only feel my way through ? Much appreciated.

[@MrGeorgeferreira]

Chris..firstly thank u for the video..excellent for me anyways as I have the same remote on my chaparral 236 ssx...my problem is that I can't shift into neutral from forward...it seems something is preventing the lever from going back to neutral and reverse...any ideas as to it could be? this is preventing me from shifting into nuetral.thanks

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

Hi George, I'm afraid there are a handful of possibilities.. something could have broken inside the controller and jammed, something could actually be preventing the shift cable from going into reverse. You'll need to disconnect the shift cable to debug further I'm afraid.

[@nicolebraxton6273]

Love the video, I have a 1996 bayliner 3.0 mercruiser, I wanted to replace the whole throttle control box, my question is do I need to replace both cable?

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

If there is nothing wrong with your cables, you do not need to replace them with the carb, but if they are original, it's probably worth replacing them as the throttle will likely be a lot smoother.

[@nicolebraxton6273]

@@SlideruleRacingProducts I don’t know which control box that will just plug and play, most people said most aftermarket control box you have to place the cable cause most of them have different style

[@71moesaleh]

Hi, I just put this on my boat, but don't see any other wires to connect the 2 Neutral switche purple wires, any ideas? I see yours are connected to something when you first taken it out. Thanks

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

There are 2 extra wires for the safety lanyard - your boat might have the safety lanyard somewhere else.

[@naiefelyemeni1986]

how do you know where the positions of those legs that the throttle cables screw to? and also how to tell where the black center (where the hand control screws to ) was exactly if i moved it?

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

I'm not sure I understand your second question. But to your first question, if you didn't make note of your cable locations then you'll need to figure out where on the leg to attach. All the way at the end yields the longest travel. One side of the arm is for the push cable, the other is for the pull cable. If your boat only has one, then it's most likely a pull-style cable. I don't have it handy, but you can probably find the original installation manual for the Commander 4000 series online which has more detailed guidelines if memory serves. Good luck!

[@justinwood3020]

I am about to do the same thing. In the video you say to push in the throttle only button then push it in forward/full throttle. But in the video it doesn't look like you held in the button when pushing it forward. Do you have to have it in throttle only or can you just put it in forward gear?

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

I'm sorry - I honestly don't fully recall. I *think* it was just a matter of making sure I had tool access to the mounting screws, in which case it shouldn't matter if it is in neutral or in gear.

[@therealchristoff]

any chance you have a pic of how the leaf springs and roller attach when putting the throttle back together?

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

Sorry - I no longer own this boat so I can't take any new photos. This video is the best I have to offer.

[@davidqi8073]

I have the similar throttle, after I open and clean and put them back together, my shifter doesn’t able to find N, and it’s very loose when push forward or backwards. Do you think I need a new control box? The reason I open it because boat won’t idle when put on reverse and it took to much force to put it on reverse before. Thanks

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

It sounds like you didn't put it back together correctly. My first guess would be the sleeve that I remove at 8:18 didn't get put back in when you put it back together.

[@Jubi316]

They are crappy control boxes ! I had the same one till I changed it

[@thepredatorstrikesagainaka1949]

I totally agree with you with you which one did you replace it with

[@crisprtalk6963]

man I was hoping you would show the reinstall. I took off my handle and then tried to reinstall it and failed miserably, wasn't aligned properly. I still dont know why. Had to pay repair guy to do it. yuk. Good video though, great solution.

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

Reinstall was exactly the reverse of the removal.. backup the video slowly?

[@crisprtalk6963]

@@SlideruleRacingProducts thanks for replying, even though it may be sarcasm. hahah What I was wondering is is there anything in particular that needs to be aligned properly in the handle? I put mine back together and it wasn't right.

[@SlideruleRacingProducts]

@@crisprtalk6963 My guess is that you didn't have the mechanism in the neutral position and then didn't 'record' where the handle was when you removed it. You want the mechanism in neutral when you take the handle off so that when you put it back on, you know how to align it. If you take it off at an angle, then you need to put it back on at that same angle.

[@crisprtalk6963]

@@SlideruleRacingProducts Much appreciated.

[@greatrides]

@@crisprtalk6963 Rght after I took the handle off I decided I should make a scribe mark since it was splined. It wouldn't go back on no matter how I got the splines aligned. Then I realized the plastic friction sleeve has a locating tab that goes in a groove at the bottom. I lined that up and it slipped right on.

[@juliopavon1001]

They are slippery as hell ,its like walking over soap

[@dennissytsma3561]

I have gen 2 with gen 2 cables and no issues with my MPC 4000 yet, fast forward to 7 `/2 mintues into my video to see smooth shift. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIS4hnyrZ8mLhrM