Replaced water pump, now stuck in forward

[Devling]

Help! Replaced the water pump in my '93 Mariner 115 (manual said to shift to forward before removing lower unit) and after trying several attempts to reposition the shift shaft etc. the unit stays in forward regardless of the shifter position. Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,
Gary

 

[emckelvy]

Re: Replaced water pump, now stuck in forward

Gary, this is a very common issue. Best way to resolve is to shift both the lower unit and control box to Neutral and then reinstall the lower unit.

You'll need to rotate the flywheel in a clockwise direction to engage the driveshaft into the crankshaft splines as you're reinstalling the lower unit. Be sure you've yanked the plug wires before you do this.

Note that the shift shaft rotates counterclockwise to shift from Fwd to Neutral to Reverse. Use a pair of Vise Grips or other suitable pliers on the shift shaft to shift gears. Cushion the splines of the shift shaft with a rag etc to keep them from getting buggered-up.

HTH & let us know how it turns out........ed

 

[Devling]

Re: Replaced water pump, now stuck in forward

Thanks Ed. I will try this. In several of my previous attempts I did pull plugs and ratchet the flywheel to align the splines in the drive shaft - the lower unit would not buckle up all the way without coaxing the flywheel a bit.

I noted that the shift shaft in the lower unit has about 250 degrees of rotation. As I rotate this counter-clockwise, will I be able to test by tunning the prop to determine position? If I recall, the unit stayed in drive throughout the rotation. Should I be turning the shaft very hard counter-clockwise to actuate a cam or something? My previous attempts were simply twisting the shaft to a different point in the rotation and buckling the unit back together. It stayed in drive each time.

 

[Paul DuLaney]

Re: Replaced water pump, now stuck in forward

Gary,You only have to move the shift shaft just a little to get it to go from neutral to forward and neutral to reverse. I use a rubber strap to help hold the unit up till I get everything lined up.

 

[emckelvy]

Re: Replaced water pump, now stuck in forward

There is a lot of free play in the shift shaft when in Fwd gear, but as Paul stated, there's only a bit of motion when you're actually shifting from one gear to the other.

Rotate the shaft CCW until you get some resistance, the next "notch" is Neutral. You can either rotate the prop or driveshaft to figure out where you're at, and usually it helps when you're shifting to do so.

G'luck........ed

 

[Devling]

Re: Replaced water pump, now stuck in forward

Thanks gents,

Going to drop the unit again tomorrow. What had me confused was the play in the lower unit shift shaft. Turning Clockwise to CCW there is about 250 deg of play by finger. I never used any plier or grip to turn past the soft stops on each end. The manual I have ( Mariner Outboards Service Manual Models 70-75-80-90-100-115 dated 1995 from Brunswick) is completely vague on the shift shaft position and operation.

Paul, please help me understand what you mean by using a rubber strap - I can not decode where or how this works.

Thanks again guys,
Gary

 

[emckelvy]

Re: Replaced water pump, now stuck in forward

Gary, I expect he's probably using a rubber strap, wrapped around the lower unit, to apply upwards pressure while he's up there moving the flywheel. A novel approach and might be something for the Ol' Bag of Tricks!

And yeah, the "free range" of the shift shaft when the gearbox is in Fwd can usually be achieved by rotating the shaft with your finger pressure only.

However, unless you have the proverbial Fingers Like Vise Grips, you're gonna need a bit more 'help' to move that shift shaft when you get it to the point where it's actually gonna shift some gears. Thus the pliers cushioned with a shop rag or equivalent, to keep the splines on the shift shaft un-marred.

Cheers.........ed

 

[Devling]

Re: Replaced water pump, now stuck in forward

Gents,

Please accept my appreciation for your words of wisdom and support.

I did find my critical error in this process - The connections for the shift and throttle cables on the left side of the engine had become (however) disconnected from their secured and latched position. Now matter how many times I tried to buckle the lower unit up, the shift cable, unanchored, would never work. Once identified and remounted properly (both the shift cable and throttle cable are secured on the engine left side by a clasp), all went well. On the water again Friday for a shake-down.

Many thanks again, ya'll are honorary Texans!

Thanks and regards,
Gary Devlin