TM pull rope broke!

[TNtroller]

have a MG pro series 43lb'r 5 speed on my tracker PT175, and the pull rope to release the locking pin broke yesterday :x , could not raise the TM up for loading the boat on the trailer, so had to just raise the head/shaft/motor up via the thumbscrew. Has anyone had to change/replace their pull ropes, if so, how did you do it.

It looks like a portion of the mount fits down into a U shaped channel (the main mount) and in turn, the locking pin is under/inside this U shaped channel and I don't have access to it. I can ALMOST get the locking pin to release using some thin bladed screwdrivers/tools, etc., but not quite. Do you have to actually take the head/shaft/motor off of the mount to gain access to the locking pin or what ??

 

[Specknreds]

My MG's have all had a small hole in the underside of the u-channel you are referring to. Hopefully yours is the same as mine. If you raise the motor about about half way, it should expose the hole on the underside. Look into the hole and there should be an eye bolt or something the rope is tied to. Cut the old one off. I use a pair of needle nose pliers to thread the rope threw the eye with both ends of the rope coming out the hole. Tie a slip knot and sinch it down. Then thread the rope back threw the u-channel. Tie on the handle and your done.


They always break when your in a bind. Mine broke last weekend while I was next to rocks with a strong current :roll:

 

[albright1695]

A couple of tips on this subject. Tip#1 I keep a new lawnmower pull rope and handle in my boat just in case mine breaks while on the water. Tip#2 Put a piece of heat shrink tubing over the rope any place that it contacts metal or plastic and heat with a lighter or a hair dryer. Tip#3 Thread a length of weed trimmer line along your rope and wrap it around the rope a few times. Feed it through the handle and cut off a couple of inches longer than the rope. Make sure its tied on to the release pin. Now you have a back-up if the rope does break. Hope these tips help.

 

[TNtroller]

thanks for the info, unfortunately my TM is in the down position (locked right now) so have to figure out a way to get the TM raised w/o hurting myself or damage to the TM.

Could someone post a pic of how the pull rope is supposed go, never paid much attention to the routing of the rope, and now i really wish I had, but live and learn I guess.

Got it all figured out, if you are lucky enough to have the pull rope break when the TM is in the UP position, it's your lucky day as it is an easy fix on a MG TM anyway. The spring loaded locking pin plate is right in sight, just tie a new pull rope on and you're good to go. If you're unlucky like me and the rope broke when trying to raise the TM up while on the lake, not so lucky but not a real bad ordeal either. On a MG TM, it would be best to remove the actual TM head/shaft/motor from the bracket using the large thumbscrew on the front door. Be careful as your TM could go right to the bottom when you open the door over the shaft if you try to replace the rope on the lake. I removed my actual motor in the garage as I was able to raise the TM up high enough to load the boat back on the trailer and get it home, but did have to idle back to the dock as the TM motor was still barely in the water and didn't feel like bending the shaft. I then used two of the mini hacksaw blade handles, one on each side of the top plate and slid them down to release the locking pin. Without the TM hanging on the bracket, it is much easier to raise the TM bracket up to gain access to the pull rope connection. I used a block of wood to hold the bracket up, replaced the rope, and then put the TM head/shaft/motor back on and was done.