Mercruiser Shifting Problem

[Alpheus]

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I bought the part for the shift cable I needed at a boat salvage yard for 2 bucks. I went to the boat the other day and removed the outdrive to see what was binding up the shift linkage. When I removed the outdrive I noticed that the dip sh!t PO did not use new gaskets or o-rings. As a matter of fact He used no o-rings at all, just a big gob of silicone. After seeing this, and knowing that He told me He replaced the water pump,impeller,and bellows I had better pull off the other drive and double check all of his work.

After pulling both drives apart and replacing both water pumps and impellers that looked like they were the stock ones installed in 1987 I put the drives back on my boat. (bellows looked good) (And He wont return any of my phone calls or emails)

Now back to the original problem.

While the drive in question was off the boat I checked the shift shaft lever cable and it moved freely. I turned the shift shaft on the outdrive and it worked perfect, locking in and out of gear like it should. I put the drive back on made sure everything was lined up perfect (Using brand new gaskets and o-rings). I went up to the helm of the boat and the shifter would not move out of forward gear. I checked the drive and it was right between being locked in forward and neutral. just clicking a little when turned the prop by hand. I had a guy at the marina jump in my boat and try to move shifter as I was turning the prop and nothing; Its stuck. So not only am I upset about this but, the guy who was helping me decided to pull on the shift/throttle handle so hard that he broke the shift cutout switch cable and broke my shift/throttle handle. This is how locked up the shift shaft is.

Anyone have any idea what would cause this problem? Something has to be binding up when I put the drive back on. I got so mad I just had to walk away from the boat today because if I would have had a match in my pocket she would have been burnin.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

[Alpheus]

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[garryowen]

you realize the shifter and drive need to be in forward before you remove and when you reinstall.
dosnt sound like you followed the proper procedure when you removed and installed?

When I removed the outdrive I noticed that the dip sh!t PO did not use new gaskets or o-rings. As a matter of fact He used no o-rings at all, just a big gob of silicone. /QUOTE]
not the best but as long as it didnt leak really wont hurt anything

gary

 

[BonBini]

Gary I was thinking the same thing.

Alpheus: From one of your pics, looks like the spring loaded ign cutout stuff is missing. I could be wrong! Thinking I was looking at some other than what I was.

step one: WITH ENGINE OFF (NOT RUNNING) you should be able to move lower shift cabe to forw, neu, and rev with little effort and a little assistance turning prop by hand and feeling the gears chunk in together. If you cant, somethings wrong from the cable down.

A merc service manual is very handy, maybe you allready have one? I dont know. Be carefull with those drives and get the cable and ign cutout switch set right so you dont trash your lower. ...Ron

 

[Alpheus]

not the best but as long as it didnt leak really wont hurt anything

I sure as heck wouldn't substitute silicone for an o-ring. This in just plain wrong. How can you justify trashing an outdrive by not using the correct parts, especially when the gasket kit costs all of 4 dollars...

 

[garryowen]

i didnt say i would either.
sounds to me like you want to bash the po and the fellow trying to help you today.
your way ahead of me on this one. being its not your first time around the block ect.

will bow out and leave you to it
gary

 

[Alpheus]

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[sprink56]

I know this might be a reach but is it possible that the PO tried to replace the shift cable at some point and used the wrong one....or the "shift dog" is in backwards or the wrong part.

I'm going to run this by my brother and see if he has an idea. He has dealt around with this kind of thing on his '82 23 ft Formula. He has adapted an Alpha II to work with a MR I gimble housing so he might be able to shed some light on this.

Back off a bit...it will come together.:thumbsup:

 

[Alpheus]

After I figure out if I can fix my control box I will be removing the outdrive again. Thanks...

 

[SCORPIO]

Dumb question here but can you shift the control box with the cables disconnected from the outdrive? How is the shift effort? What I'm getting at is are you sure the problem is in the OD and not the control mechnism and/or cables? Do both drives behave the same way?

 

[Alpheus]

When the throttle cable,shift interupt cable and the shifter cable were disconnected the control box worked perfect. All the cables were moving perfect. I am taking the drive off again as soon as the weather clears up. I will post pics.

BTW when the guy pulled on my shift/throttle lever so hard that he broke it this is what he broke. He said he wasn't pulling on it that hard. I beg to differ. Im just grateful that this part is still available for under 20 bucks, and I already welded the case...