Yamaha Outboard Throttle Control Box Manual
The fact that you're reading this is probably because you find yourself in the same boat (wow-bad pun) as me; having a Yamaha 703 that moves the throttle the wrong direction! I bought a new Yamaha 4 stroke outboard to replace my older 2 stroke Yamaha and figured that since I stayed with the same brand, everything would all plug and play together nicely.
Unfortunately, somewhere in Yamaha outboard evolution, they decided that their engine throttles should move in the opposite direction of how they used to; the carb linkage on my new outboard is pushed by the cable to open the throttle while on my older Yamaha, the cable pulled the throttle open. And that's how my 703 control worked. Okay, we've figured that much out. But the 703 is used everywhere and has been for years; it must be a simple switch inside the 703 control to use it either way, push or pull, right? The Yamaha 703 is MADE either way, the only outside difference being a sticker on the bottom that says either 'PUSH THROTTLE' or 'PULL THROTTLE'. I never saw the sticker until I read about it online and bent over to look for it.
I proceeded to search online for some solid info; lots of people asking how to do it and lots of ebay ads for controls saying that 'it's easy to convert the 703 to whichever you need', some adding that you need a 'part' but not much more. Well here's the answer; it is easy to do but you do need to buy a $50 part (unless you're very, very crafty remanufacturing parts-see below). If you want to know how to swap yours from PUSH to PULL or vice versa, get ready to learn more than you ever wanted about the inner workings of your 703 remote control. To convert it, you have to open it which means uninstalling it if it's still in your boat. The hardest part for me was getting the long mounting bolts out of their holes- they just pass through the body but they were corroded and stuck. Anyway, take your box apart.
Yamaha Outboard Throttle Control Adjustment
Take pictures if you don't have a good memory of how little parts come out in order. I didn't document my disassembly but it's really pretty self explanatory if you're mechanically inclined. Here's an exploded parts diagram from Yamaha- you can refer to if you get lost. Click the diagram to make it big or for printing. This part (#2 in the parts diagram-'throttle arm') is the difference between a Yamaha 703 Pull Throttle (left) and a Yamaha 703 Push Throttle (right).
As you can see, the parts are exactly the same except for where the little connecting arm attaches to the lever arm on the right. At first, I thought all 3 pieces were the same and the only difference was where the connecting arm attached to the lever arm.
I considered trying to move the arm to the lower hole but then I noticed that the connecting arms curve opposite directions. Actually, it looks like the same piece, just flipped. If you're considering modifying your part to make the conversion- see the bottom of this page. In spring of '08, the PUSH THROTTLE version of the part, which seems to be more common since that's how current motor throttles move, is available for about $50 online (plus shipping) to about $60 at the local dealer; part number 703-48261-01-00. Since I originally posted this, a fellow boater contacted me with more information: the part number for the PULL THROTTLE version of the part is 703-48261-11-00 (sells for $66 and must be special ordered in spring '08). His parts guy told him that this part number supercedes its old number, 703-48261-10-00.
If that's the part you need, give your parts guy this info but make sure the part you get looks like the one on the left (above). If your parts guy has trouble figuring this out since the parts diagram only shows the PUSH version, have him check 'the rigging book'; it has a section about this swap. The picture below shows what the inside of my PULL THROTTLE 703 control. This is with the back removed; the right side points toward the front of the boat. You can see the key part prominently and I added some colors to describe them. When the main control lever is moved to shift into gear and advance the throttle, the large casting with the red 'track' rotates. The track is cam shaped so as it moves, a bushing (under the green dot) riding in the red track, drives the connector arm and thus actuates the cable arm.
The blue point at the bottom of the cable arm is where the throttle cable attaches; with this pull version of the part installed, the bottom of the arm moves to the right (and pulls the cable and thus the throttle) This picture (below) shows a 703 control set for PUSH THROTTLE (actually the same control box about 2 minutes later) after I changed to the push version part. Note that changing the attachment point to below the cable arm pivot point, moves the cable arm the opposite direction with the same input motion from the main lever.
And lastly, I mentioned getting info from a fellow boater about the part for converting to PULL THROTTLE. He was in the same but opposite situation as me and found this web page. I sold him my old part for his conversion so he can PULL his throttle. So now he has a spare PUSH THROTTLE part available for sale. If you're converting to PUSH (like I was) and need this part, (part number 703-48261-01-00), and he'll sell it to you for $40 including shipping. If you're considering modifying your part rather than buying the correct one, below is pic of the back of how the connector arm attaches to the cable arm.
Yamaha Outboard Throttle Controls
It appears to be a continuous washer in a groove. Maybe you could destroy it and reconnect with a circlip? You'd have to try the part with the curve the wrong way or you could try to 'un press' the brass bushing (that rides in the slot on the plate with the big hole), flip the part over and press it in from the other side. I decided not to mess with it and bought the new part. (SEE UPDATE BELOW)!!! Modifying update!!! I received an email from Tim Nooij about modifying rather than replacing this part: 'I saw your website about editing the 703 remote and since I had the same issue (only vise versa;) as you had and wanted to make my push remote into a pull remote.
On your website I saw that it might be possible to flip the metal arm and mount it to the other hole and have your self a pull remote without buying new parts. Since you said you didn't really know if this was possible I wanted to tell you that its a great solution that will save you some dollars (or in my case euro's). I added some pictures of how it was done etc.
Since you may be interested. We just grinded of the pressed metal plate that held the metal arm on its place (like you showed on your website) using a grinder and using a lathe (but you could do it by hand drilling) we drilled a hole in the center and added screw-thread in it so it could be later mounted again to the other hole securing it with a big washer and a little bolt. Thanks for your great site or I never had a clue this was possible!' Above- the before picture of the insides of Tim's factory 'Push Throttle' 703 box. Above- the parts after Tim ground off the 'press on' fitting holding the smaller, connecting arm to the main, cable arm.
Now to flip the smaller arm the opposite direction and reassemble. Notice the tapped hole in the bronze looking part; thats the pivot link between the two arms of the throttle arm assembly. It has been moved from below the pivot point (Push throttle position) to a pre-existing hole above the pivot point (Pull throttle position). And finally, Tim's finished Pull Throttle 703 conversion. Looks like it came from the factory. Thanks Tim, for the update and the pictures! If you any comments or corrections on this document.
Good luck with your conversion. Parts for sale: 9/15/09, in the UK, has available for sale, his old 'PUSH' linkage after doing the swap.