Worn cam plate
 

I have a 1650 , I have to move the hydro lever halfway to move. On inspection the stud or nipple on the cam plate is worn and oblong. Is there a bushing available to put over the stud . Or does the whole plate need to be replaced?

Worn cam follower pin
 

I had re-done all the trunion and springs in mine and it had the biggest impact to the hydro control. Then the biggest issue was more like what you are experiencing. I took mine back out and found the Cam follower pin was worn.
Now, I can not say how long it will last or if it will wear the cam plate itself more now but, I just spotted a little weld on the pin and filed it back just till it slipped in the cam plate. This made the controls much better and removed almost all the lever slop. Another thing you will want to check is how much play there is in all the linkage going from the control handle all the way down to the cam plate. There are at least four connection points in that linkage group, a little slop in each of them adds up to a lot on the lever. The worse one will likely be the short linkage between the handle and the jack-shaft. This linkage is only a piece of 5/16 round stock bent on a U shape and rides directly in the holes on the handle and on the jack shaft. I spot welded the worn spots and filed it back round to tighten this one up also. I have been wanting to replace that one with a couple of ball joints threaded together, just to see how "slop free" I can get the linkage.

Good luck

Thank you I'll try that.

Good info
 

My 1650 linkage is pretty sloppy too. Now I have a list of things to check next spring.:beerchug: