Boat won't go into neutral

[315Customs]

I have a 1990 Celebrity with a Mercruiser 5.0 and an Alpha One Gen 1 outdrive. I just replaced my gimbal bearing and u-joint bellow. I had some trouble getting the outdrive back onto the bell housing. After fight I finially got it. Now the boat won't go into neutral. Yes I put the shifter all the way fwd before removing the outdrive.

The propeller spins freely as it in neutral right now. What should I be looking for when I pull the outdrive back off? I'm 10+ year auto mechanic but this is my first boat I've worked on. Thanks for any advice

 

[franktrav]

Re: Boat won't go into neutral

check the shift foot connection between drive and bellhousing for proper alignment
if the shifter is in forward and the propellar spins freely,,,,,,the drive was not in forward gear when it was installed
when re installing the drive....make sure it is in forward gear,,,the shift foot should point toward the transom and the propellar should lock when you turn it counterclockwise...
hook a bungee cord on the propellar holding it snugly.. pulling it counterclockwise......this will hold it securely in forward gear....because even if you put the drive in forward gear,,,,,any little bump or push during the install can cause it to pop back into neutral

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Boat won't go into neutral

So many people have problems with this, I wrote up a little paragraph. I think this covers your situation, if you did not separate the gearhousing (lower) from the driveshaft housing (upper):

If you removed the entire outdrive and it is stuck in gear and the shifter moves freely back and forth maybe a little binding near wot then either you are missing the intermediate shift shaft washer (see below) or your shift slide at the end of the shift cable has come disconnected from the upper shift shaft lever. Take a look underneath the fore part of the outdrive (trim it up a little to see) to make sure the intermediate ss and the upper ss are firmly locked together. If they are the problem is probably the shift slide. This is what it looks like: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a224/captainobvious68/setscrew.jpg There are two little arms on the shift slide that capture a small wheel on the underside of the upper shift shaft lever. When you shift to forward the slide moves back rotating the lever clockwise. If the wheel is not between the arms, the aft arm will push the lever, but when you shift to reverse the slide moves forward and since the wheel is not between the arms there is nothing to pull it back (rotate CCW) and you stay in forward. Fix: Place control in forward, hold the gearhousing in forward by CCW pressure with a bungee on the prop, Slide the outdrive back and reposition the wheel between the shift slide arms, slide it back in, bolt back together. Good luck.

PS It may slip into neutral (just kind of slips out of forward), but probably will not go into reverse.