Suzuki 250 hard to shift out of neutral. HELP

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cptom
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Suzuki 250 hard to shift out of neutral. HELP

#1

Post by cptom »

Hoping someone has solved this problem so I don't have to reinvent the wheel (or even worse, spend a fortune on it).

My 2006 Zuk 250 4 stroke has started to be very hard to shift from Forward back to Neutral. The rpm's aren't dropping and it may be a sensor problem but it feels "mechnical" in that you can keep bumping it back and it will eventually kick, very roughly, into neutral. It only happens after the engine has rev'd over 1500-2000 rpm. Turn the engine off and it slides into N with no trouble.

Dealer checked and adjusted throttle cable but didn't put it in the water so never reved high enough to duplicate the problem. Gear and throttle cable work freely when unhooked from the motor. I can manually shift it at the engine (in idle) with no problem.

The rpm's are not dropping properly when the throttle is brought back coming off running. All and all it sounds like some kind of sensor to me but I hate to take it in until I have some idea of what is wrong so I will know that the mechanic isn't just "trying" expensive sensors until it works.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

I checked THT and there were no recent threads and the old ones said to clean the IAC (I did) and check the cables (I did) and that it could be linkage in the lower unit. I don't see how that could be it but that may be my next "try it" item. Un fortunately, I tend to think it is one of those expensive sensor units.

Tom
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Re: Suzuki 250 hard to shift out of neutral. HELP

#2

Post by welder »

Pinched or coroded throttle cable ? Sounds like It's in the binical. have recently had the lower unit off ?
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cptom
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Re: Suzuki 250 hard to shift out of neutral. HELP

#3

Post by cptom »

Hey Lester,

Thanks for the reply. I've already taken the binnacle apart, everything is smooth and greased.. cables move great when unhooked from the engine. Had the problem prior to dealer replacing the water pump so they would have had to remove lower unit (assuming they did the work I paid for) and they adjusted the cables but never water tested it. I guess I'm going to have to load it on my trailer and tow it back to Jax and say "why isn't it fixed? I'm afraid it is one of the multitude of sensors. Maybe some kind of cable adjustment because the rpm's are not dropping when the throttle is brought back idle. The mechanic told me to not adjust anything other than the throttle cable from the binnacle when I called after they worked on it. Evidently it is easy to screw up the cams/pulleys whatever you call the cables that attach to the throttle cable from the binnacle.
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Re: Suzuki 250 hard to shift out of neutral. HELP

#4

Post by Chaps »

I've got the same year engine tho its 225. Racking my brain thinking about what your problem might be. Next time I'm at my shop I'll get the big v6 zuke service manual out and research it.
1987 24' LaConner pilothouse workboat, 225 Suzuki
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Re: Suzuki 250 hard to shift out of neutral. HELP

#5

Post by welderbob »

during the gulf oil spill we rigged a used Merc on one our boats. We thought we were doing a good job by wrapping all the cables together. Had the same sort of problem. All the parts worked fine disconnected, but when we bundled them together something in the cables wasn't happy. I have since read in the Honda rigging that you can't tye wrap the cables together so close to the engine.

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Re: Suzuki 250 hard to shift out of neutral. HELP

#6

Post by JETTYWOLF »

I sort of had the same problem, and my Nuetral saftey switch was hanging up on my Honda.

IF, it worked before fine and now doesn't it's probably something simple, so I'd look at the simplest and work toward hardest.
For me, it's usually the second or third step after easiest.

You didn't have a giant Florida palmetto bug building a nest in that boat, or a pack of dock mice while that boats out there making a good home for someone, huh? :rotfl: :rotfl:
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Re: Suzuki 250 hard to shift out of neutral. HELP

#7

Post by cptom »

Thanks for all the good ideas. The cables aren't bundled, so that's not the problem. I have the shop manual but no luck finding a "troubleshooting" item on this problem. I'm with Jetty, probably a sensor or switch of some kind that isn't letting the rpm's drop. I'll post back when I get it solved to let you know what it was.

Twenty knot winds and rain forcasted for the next couple days so I don't think I'll be going out (even though the spotted sea trout are jumping into the boat. May just fish off the dock.

Jetty, No rats or mice but they did a real job on a neighbor's boat while it was on his lift. An old, smaller Boston Whaler with the 4' tunnel/conduit for running the wiring and cables. It's open at the stern and under the console. Rats love it and have chewed up his wiring harness twice!! About a thousand bucks worth of repairs. We've blocked the console opening with heavy aluminum screening (go aluminum!!) and the stern opening with the stainless pad type scrubbers that we could stuff around the cables and wires. Put a couple of the rat deterent high frequency sound things that you plug into outlets near the boat. So far so good for about a month.

No palmetto bugs (roaches for you non Florida guys) but the mud daubers have been a problem. They built nests inside the engine cowling as well as under the hard top and in storage box above the windshield. Makes a real mess when you knock them down.
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Re: Suzuki 250 hard to shift out of neutral. HELP

#8

Post by JETTYWOLF »

Tom,

really kinda sounds like the same deal I had once. I'd pull up to the dock in the Mayport screamin tide and need to go into Neutral or reverse and the shifter would be hard to drop, and the rpm's seemed up a bit. I jus got in there and lubed up the nuetral safety switch and it worked again.

But all this only happened after the whole engine under the cowling got soaked with salt water after I had the pin-hole leak in the back of the "BLOCK" from ZERO "QC" on a Friday afternoon in Yokoshima Japan....or where ever. I even have a spare Nuetral safety switch now, just incase.

Hell, I have two!!
Being that I have a entire honda 225 as a spare in the garage. OPPPPPPS.
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