Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

[macca110]

Hey there all.
Boat was purchased after a thorough survey including a sea trial.
It shifted,powered up,backed off and trimmed out nicely,then reversed. All smoothly. During the sea trial it was put thru hard figure 8's at speed and backed down again.All appeared normal and "smooth"throughout.
8 weeks later the boat arrived here on a trailer.It started right up and ran nicely on muffs.It is in forward gear no matter the position of the helm shifter.In or out,forward or back.I was not present for the sea trial.The boat was put on a trailer and arrived at my place.
Although mechanically minded,this one has me "stumped".It's puzzling how it can be fine in the water a couple of months back,yet stuck now on the trailer.
Any help would be great.
Engine serial # 0f063387
Transom serial # 0f04962 (I think..very hard to see)
Drive serial # 0d869785. (Could be a different drive.But it is a Bravo 3)
Thankyou in advance.
Andy

 

[Philster]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

If someone moved it into gear without the engine running... it can break your arm trying to move it back to neutral. It will move though.

Did you really try? Like... with some oomph?

 

[macca110]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

I have been told Bravos like to "hang "in gear...I will wriggle the props whilst my son will be at the helm,then vice versa.I take it the "ommph" required would be at the props?
Thanks for your reply.
Andy

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

If anyone took the drive off for some reason, they didn't get the "jaws" of the lower shift cable end around the ball that is on the end of the shift cable in the boat. I did it once, and it stays in forward gear, because the cavble "pushes" it into forward, but had to"pull" it into reverse and neutral. I'll bet if you remove the drive, you'll find the lower cable in the drive is pushed in and the "jaws" were shut. A pair of needle nosed pliers is what you'll need to pull it out. Just make sure the jaws are open and that they fit around the ball when you re-install it.

 

[macca110]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

Thank you TilliamWe,The drive was not removed.If it had been I would've noticed.Here's hoping I dont need to do this,but thanks for your input.Andy

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

...The drive was not removed.If it had been I would've noticed...

How would you be able to tell?

Seriously, there is a good chance you'll end up removing the drive. But before you do that, remove the top plate and check out the shifting mechanism up there. there is something up there that can get out of place and cause them to hang in gear. Something about a "detent and a ball", but I haven't ever looked in there.

 

[Don S]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

Bravo drives do tend to stick in gear when the engine or prop is not turning. DO NOT force it , you will either damage the lower shift cable, or bend the latch linkage where the cable attaches to the drive.
Either turn the prop the while moving out of gear, or if it happens in the water, you can turn the engine over with the starter while moving out of gear.

 

[macca110]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

Honestly,the way the drive looked in the survey pics,to the way it looked when it arrived here.I would have noticed the barnicles would have been messed with....Seriously it was that bad..The guy who owned it,was fastidious when it came to servicing the engine and drive.All oils look new and engine bay is as clean as a whistle,however all zincs had pretty much expired and cosmetically the outdrive needed to be stripped back to bare metal and resprayed.During this process also there were no apparent signs of recent work.The only time something could have happened would of been on the 8 week journey to NewZealand..And it was shrink wrapped.
I'm not too worried if I have to pull the drive.I'm just a bit puzzled as to how something can happen when the boat is on its trailer,at sea.I guess I don't want to open her up unless I have to.The expert I spoke to here said the lower cable would have stretched and apparrently happens all the time when applying the brakes by shifting to reverse.I found that advice a bit hard to swallow...

Don,how much omff is too much?And which way should I turn them?
Is turning or jiggling the props while someone else carefully moves the shifter around ok?
They only turn one way,which indicates being in gear?

And,forgive me for sounding green,but what position should the shifter be in to be in gear? Due to the fact that it starts clicked in or out half an inch,I can only assume it should be in neutral when clicked out ,as opposed to clicked in being in gear?Thanks again for all of your posts.I know I've asked a truckload of questions.Andy

 

[Don S]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

Don,how much omff is too much?

If things break, that's too much. You would really need to ask someone that broke one and had their oomph meter hooked up at the same time. Personally, I've never broke one, just repaired them after the owners broke them.

And which way should I turn them?

If it's in gear, it will only turn freely one way. Try both directions and see which way works.

Is turning or jiggling the props while someone else carefully moves the shifter around ok?

Turning the prop, not just jiggling.

 

[macca110]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

Thanks Don,for the advice and the laugh me n my sons had reading your comments!!Will keep you posted.Thanks again.Andy

 

[macca110]

Re: Bravo 3.Stuck in forward gear.

Hey There All.My Son spun the props while I used the helm shifter.It came out of gear and props now spin freely !Yay ! I think...I pulled the throttle back,with it in it's usual position.(ei with out pulling or clicking the base of it half an inch or so port). The props spin freely when it is pulled back to where reverse would be on my old boat/outboard.
Can I please have someone explain the shifter pattern clearly before I try it with things running? Clicked in,out, fore and aft.The position of the shifter at start up etc,etc.

How to Not damage things whilst on muffs and also at the dock? Yikes.
Thankyou all so much for all help received and things learned from this forum thus far.Andy.