Mercruiser 260 - No forward or reverse

[ajochum]

My 1982 Mercruiser with an Alpha-I will not go into forward or reverse. This spring I had replaced the lower unit and installed it incorrectly with the shaft pointing to the left and it was thus stuck in forward. My mechanic reinstalled it properly and I drove it into the lake. Three weeks later it sits in neutral. Both cables move properly. It appears that mine is hydraulic, with a clear tube connecting to the motor marked "Quicksilver" (has two solenoids on it). On the other side of the engine is the pump for my trim. Could anyone confirm for me that I do have hydraulics involved in the forward/reverse and could it be out of fluid? If so, does the Quicksilver unit w/ the two solenoids have a fluid compartment, just like the one on the other side? If no hydraulics, what could have happened just sitting on the boat lift? Thanks.

 

[alldodge]

Can you post a pic of what your looking at?

 

[Bt Doctur]

look to see if the 2 brass shoes are still connected, sometimes the SS washer is forgotten.

 

[ajochum]

look to see if the 2 brass shoes are still connected, sometimes the SS washer is forgotten.

Boat is still on the lift in the water - drove it out there. Hoping it something I can repair on the lift rather than drop the outdrive at this point. May get to that. Can anyone confirm that my unit is hydraulically controlled?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Alpha`s are not hyd. controlled`

 

[ajochum]

Will attach photo tomorrow. To the right of the cables is a rotating half-dollar sized circle and at the end of that is a high pressure hose going down towards the out drive. Also coming out of the circle is a clear high pressure tube leading to the Quicksilver motor which contains the two solenoids - sound at all familiar?

 

[Bondo]

sound at all familiar?

Ayuh,.... Sounds like the reverse lock on an MC-1 drive trim/ tilt system,.....

 

[ajochum]

No Title

These are the photos of my engine. If you look at the one with the half-dollar sized circle with two stainless nuts on it where the cables end, it has two outlet hoses. Could anyone tell me what purpose they serve, and are they related to it going in or out of gear? As you can see from the photos, the cables are moving nicely. One of the pictures shows the trim motor/fluid container on the left with the other showing a motor with a hydraulic hose going into it (right side). It contains two solenoids.

 

[ajochum]

Bump

 

[Bt Doctur]

What you are referring to is a "reverse lock assembly" used to lock the drive in a down position when in reverse

 

[ajochum]

What you are referring to is a "reverse lock assembly" used to lock the drive in a down position when in reverse

Thank you - So it appears that my problem truly does require the removal of the outdrive and checking the two brass screws as you previously suggested? I just wanted to confirm that before I ended my boating season. Guess my final question would be: how could I have driven it to the dock so nicely and then all of a sudden this? Thanks for your help!

 

[alldodge]

As mentioned the one with the plastic lines coming out is the trim pump. This is part of the reverse lock valve. When put in reverse it keeps fluid from going to the trim cylinders which hold the drive from going up. In forward this doesn't happen incase the drive hits something



The brass shoe BT is discussing can be seen with the drive up looking under it.

With no FWD or REV first see if your cables are moving on the shift plate. If they are see if the shift foot is moving when the throttle control is moving

 

[ajochum]

As mentioned the one with the plastic lines coming out is the trim pump. This is part of the reverse lock valve. When put in reverse it keeps fluid from going to the trim cylinders which hold the drive from going up. In forward this doesn't happen incase the drive hits something



The brass shoe BT is discussing can be seen with the drive up looking under it.

With no FWD or REV first see if your cables are moving on the shift plate. If they are see if the shift foot is moving when the throttle control is moving

Thanks much! Getting a better understanding of it now. I will check today or tomorrow and report back. By the way - unrelated, but have wondered - how do you put that circle into the photo. Have seen it done with arrows and it would be a big help in showing - as you did for me.

 

[alldodge]

how do you put that circle into the photo

I put the pic into power point, put a circle or other shape around it, and then select "no fill" so it only shows the outline

 

[Bt Doctur]

the reason you could get the gears was most likely because the lower shaft had not slipped down and then became "un-connected" because the SS washer is missing
I save the pic, go to the edit feature on the computer, do what I want, resave it and use photobucket to copy and post it.

 

[ajochum]

Well, am about to drown my boat. Many thanks guys - yes, I got into the water tonight and found that the brass shoes had indeed separated. Which means I have left out the SS - which I also don't know what it is. I specifically remember putting on the thick "washer" which goes over the shaft (about 1/8" high rubber), so I've got to figure out what I left off.
Next, I went to put my trim down and it is stuck with the prop out of the water. Now I've got to investigate what is going on there. Had the trailer in the water waiting to pull it out to take off the outdrive and now I can't move the boat.

 

[stonyloam]

If when you try to put the outdrive down the hydraulic motor will not run, go back and check the solenoid with the green wires on it (near the hydraulic pump). Try jumpering from the red wire to the SMALL terminal with the green/white wire on it. The motor should run and lower the outdrive. If not get a heavy wire like a set of jumper cables and jumper directly from the battery + to the heavy g/w terminal. Careful lots of current there. For the shift shaft take a couple of small cable ties and wrap them around the shift shaft ends and pull them tight to make an X that should work temporarily to hold them together to allow you to shift. Good luck!

 

[ajochum]

If when you try to put the outdrive down the hydraulic motor will not run, go back and check the solenoid with the green wires on it (near the hydraulic pump). Try jumpering from the red wire to the SMALL terminal with the green/white wire on it. The motor should run and lower the outdrive. If not get a heavy wire like a set of jumper cables and jumper directly from the battery + to the heavy g/w terminal. Careful lots of current there. For the shift shaft take a couple of small cable ties and wrap them around the shift shaft ends and pull them tight to make an X that should work temporarily to hold them together to allow you to shift. Good luck!

Thanks Terry - I did just what you said about the cable ties, except I had to use a section of a shot V-belt and tied it to hold them together. (necessity is the mother of invention). I will do the jumper tomorrow. Need to get that thing lowered to get it out of the water. I think I may need to start a new thread on this trim problem. Guess I'll start with testing the solenoids first.

 

[stonyloam]

Yeah the switch on the control rairly goes bad. Try cleaning the wires on the solenoids to make sure you have good contact, that might do the trick.