John from Illinois

[495v]

I see your a Marine technician. Do you own your own shop and were is it located? I live in Plainfield and am currently looking for a mechanic that I can trust and you sound like the man. I was just about to take my boat in because the engine came out of alignment(loose motor mount). Would be very interested in having you qoute me on the job. Coupler may be damaged from what the marine tells me. They don't know till they open her up. Any input?

 

[jegervais]

Re: John from Illinois

495-<br /><br />Don't own shop just work for - outboards only though. I can probably give you an idea of what ball park is, I've got access to parts catalogs and pricing.<br /><br />-John

 

[495v]

Re: John from Illinois

Man, that's really a shame. I got my hopes up there for a minute and thought all my problems were solved. The marine by my place told me that if the engine just needs to be aligned, I'm looking at about $100. If the coupler is damaged, they said it could be anywhere between $700-$800. Does this sound reasonable? Nothing sounds reasonable when it comes to owning a boat. My wife tells me to just get rid of it but I know she's just teasing, she enjoy's it almost as much as me. Why is it some shops only do outboards. It seems to me that if you can fix an outboard, an i/o is just a stroll in the park.

 

[495v]

Re: John from Illinois

John, I could also use some input regarding a post I made the other day on trying to replace a kill switch on a commander 3000. Refer to post an see if you can give me any input. thanks

 

[jegervais]

Re: John from Illinois

Aligning an engine requires removal of the outdrive (no small task on some of the newer units like a Mercruiser Bravo or a Volvo Duo-Prop) - I would guess $100 is fairly reasonable. I will have to dig into the coupler situation. I believe they have to pull the engine to replace a coupler, its attached to the flywheel and not to many boats give you that kind of access. What make, model number and serial number (both drive and engine) do you have?<br /><br />I/O's, wellll - some techs love 'em and some are like me. Too much frustration when working in such confining spaces for me - (a dealership I used to work for handled both I/O and stern drives, so I have some exposure to them). I'll take standing around outboards any day of the week.<br /><br />Which style Commander 3000 and approximately how old. Most of those use a toggle switch and if I remember correctly its held in place by a spring clip, just remove by grabbing the tang end with a pair of needle nose pliers and unplug the wires - no???<br /><br />-John

 

[495v]

Re: John from Illinois

I'LL HAVE TO LOOK INTO THE SERIAL NUMBERS.<br />THE COMMANDER 3000 IS A 96' AND HAS THE TRAILERING TRIM TOWARDS THE BOTTOM BACK OF THE BASE OF THE SHIFTER. IT DOES HAVE A TOGGLE SWITCH. HOW EXACTLY DO YOU GET TO THE SPRING? I'VE HAD THE HOUSING OFF WHICH COMES OFF IN TWO PIECES, TOP AND BOTTOM. iS THE CLIP BEHIND THE SWITCH?

 

[495v]

Re: John from Illinois

Do you have any diagrams or pictures to show me the assembly.

 

[jegervais]

Re: John from Illinois

The clip is behind the switch, I'll check thru my stuff and see if I have any diagrams.<br /><br />-John

 

[495v]

Re: John from Illinois

Thanks John. that would help tremendously.

 

[jegervais]

Re: John from Illinois

495- <br /><br />I found an installation instruction for (what I think is) the control you have. I also found an "exploded" parts diagram. I can either e-mail the diagram or fax it.<br /><br />I can't copy the instrauction sheet at home, but I can talk you thru the disassembly. To remove the throttle only push button, the control has to be in the throttle only position, then you can carefully pry the button out. Remove the handle using an 11/16" deep socket (re-installation torque is 150 INCH lbs and requires LocTite 271). Once you remove the upper & lower plastic cover, it exposes several screws. The ones you want to remove appear to be positioned at 11, 3 and 7 o'clock positions. The other screws look like they hold the bezel to the side of the boat. Remove these and this will allow the control box to move out of the way. From this point you can either reach behind the bezel to pull the clip, or remove the bezel to expose the clip.<br /><br />Send me an e-mail with a fax # or an e-mail address to send it to - I'll be on and off the site through out the evening, except to watch JAG in a little while...<br /><br />-John<br /><br />BTW - jegervais@yahoo.com

 

[495v]

Re: John from Illinois

John. I sent you an email with a fax number. The instructions you gave me sound pretty simple, I just have one dumb question. what is LocTite 271? Thanks.

 

[Trent]

Re: John from Illinois

Get it at the autoparts store. Drop a drop of it on the threads of bolts and screws to keep them from getting loose due to vibration.<br /> <br />

 

[495v]

Re: John from Illinois

Thanks for the reply Trent, I was wondering if anybody else was going to jump in on this conversation. Any input is appreciated.

 

[495v]

Re: John from Illinois

John, I got your diagram. Thanks, it will really help. I have a few more questions for you. First of all, when I remove the shifter, will it come out in one piece or does it have to be broken down as the diagram shows. Secondly, This may be a dumb question but, the screws positioned at 11,3,7 o'clock positions, are these self tapping screws. The one appears to have a washer and nut on the back. The bezel mounts flush with the side so how do I get access to this bolt. Were will it fall when I undo the screw. I'm sorry for the ignorance, but I'm not much of a hands on kinda guy. I definately plan on attempting this myself to build some confidence. I figure, the worst that could happen is I screw it up and have to take it in, but I might as well try at least. The diagram will really help. Any other words of advice for me? Thanks again John.

 

[jegervais]

Re: John from Illinois

I don't know exactly, (that memory disease, you know c.r.s.) I haven't worked at the Merc dealer for over 2 years now. You may have to take apart more than you're bargaining for, with out seeing it, all I can say is procede slowly and if you get frustrated, take a break and get away from it for a little bit, you don't wanna' break anything.<br /><br />BTW - Check you e-mail...<br /><br />-John