'73 mercruiser-still no reverse/poor forward engagement

[170freedom]

Ok- New lower cable, with outdrive removed- I have full cable travel in reverse until it bottoms out the lever which goes down to the rod on the outdrive. The cable has full travel in forward as well. I am supecting the outdrive unit itself at this point. With the outdrive off, and in a cradle, I can manually move the shift rod, when i turn it all the way to engage the forward gear, the prop almost doesnt catch. When I move it to the reverse gear, same thing. I have a parts lower unit, when I move the selector rod into forward/reverse it works perfect. Now the million dollar question- is it possible to swap the internal components to make one good working unit??? The only reason I ask- The parts lower unit would appear to have exccessive play in the upper shaft. The shaft that the water pump housing runs on can be moved up and down a bit. When I hold it down, the bearings are nice and seated tight. But, I am able to pull up on the shaft, and then it is loose feeling- sorry for the length- I guess pics really are worth a 1000 words-LOL.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: '73 mercruiser-still no reverse/poor forward engagement

Depends, driveshaft with the preload pin are meant to be pushed down , shafts without pins
have the gears cut so the shaft is pushed upward.