ZF 280 Trolling Valves

[MATTHEW]

Here’s the application: twin 6cta 450’s w/zf 280 1.719:1 transmissions I would like to be able to troll slower, partly for fishing stripers but even more so to deal w/no wake zones.  engines throw a lot of vibes up to about 750rpm at which point they smooth out.  also at which point I’m throwing a decent wake.  I can deal with it by popping it in and out of gear but I’d prefer to just slow down to 5 knots but also would prefer not to shake my fillings.  Does this seem like a good application for these things? I looked at the pictures here: ZF Marine Mechanical Trolling Valve (ZF 280+) – Seaboard Marine (sbmar.com) A bit confused as the pictures (11 & 12) don’t seem to line up w/the text and it seems like there are redundant pictures for the same steps (?).  With that said it seems extremely straightforward and something I could do with the transmissions in the boat, likely both engines in a day.  Is this accurate?  What am I missing? As for controls & throttle locks, I have that covered, just asking about the transmission mod itself. Thanks

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[Tony Athens]

ID-ing Troll valve removal plug

Look at the picture–Reove the 4 allens screws–Lift off the plate.    5 minute job to ID what you have–Threaded set-screw or a lift out plug w/ a o-oring.

 

 

[MATTHEW]

Thanks for the follow-up.  After looking at the pictures a couple times it sunk in, so it’s all good.  Two questions:

1. Do you know when they transitioned away from the loctite?  Mine are 2001 vintage.  I’m thinking if I have the loctite setup I will just wait until the offseason.  Don’t want to risk having to pull them mid-season.
2. Thanks for the pictures of the actuator setup.  I was thinking something similar but using a much smaller linear actuator driven by a stepper motor.  This gives very fine control (.001″ increments if you want) and you can save/store ‘favorite’ locations that you can return to with great precision.  But, looking at your setup perhaps I’m underestimating the amount of force it takes to actuate the valve.  Do you have any idea what the required force to actuate the lever is?

[Tony Athens]

For sure there are redundant pics Not sure who out it all together, but none the less, the pics are accurate  but not in any easy to understand sequence. Sorry    Installing the valves is easy if your gears are not rust buckets or they are not the early ones with the threaded plug that was put in with Loctite -not the  o-ring one as in the pics.  Can be a bitch to remove. The hard part is the control for the  valve as they are touchy -I have the exact same valve on my boat and have an accurate 0-600 PSI gauge at the dash.. Trolling takes place between 20-50 PSI  an a watched gear pressure  is a must unless you have a shaft RPM counter.  I use a 12VDC linear actuator with a in-out rocker switch and a RED warning light–So far so good & control is simple.

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