Mercruiser 3.0 No Spark issues

[Scott06]

I'm not hearing anything of concern, but recorded sounds may not be that good

Agreed sounds like a healthy 3.0, which are not the quietest engines, a little clacky in my experience. Keep an eye on the plugs assuming the float level is correct -if needed you can fatten it up by upping the jets. Mikes carb parts sells them.

 

[aidanmurphy]

Agreed sounds like a healthy 3.0, which are not the quietest engines, a little clacky in my experience. Keep an eye on the plugs assuming the float level is correct -if needed you can fatten it up by upping the jets. Mikes carb parts sells them.

Yea, that's exactly how I would describe the noise. Very clacky. Seems like the sounds just come with the engine though, will keep an eye on the plugs on my next few outings and update accordingly. Thanks everyone

 

[aidanmurphy]

Got my outdrive and all the bellows off today. Someone please tell me putting the new ones on is easier.. anyways I found a lot of water in the driveshaft bellows. I'm replacing the gimbal bearing because the current one has a rough spot. The U-Joints seem okay. No binding or grinding very smooth. Going to leave those be. Also found a little water in the shift cable bellows. Obviously replacing them all, should finish up tomorrow or Friday and water test this weekend. I'm hoping since I found water in two of the bellows that is the source of my bilge leak

 

[nola mike]

How's the shift cable look? If you don't replace, at least remove the core wire and blow out the housing with compressed air

 

[aidanmurphy]

How's the shift cable look? If you don't replace, at least remove the core wire and blow out the housing with compressed air

I'm replacing the entire shift cable with a new quicksilver one, I figured while I'm down here might as well. I'm also replacing the trim sender/sensors as my gauge doesn't work and neither does my trim up switch, only trailer up works.

 

[aidanmurphy]

Oh, I will mention that I made a mistake and removed the drive with the boat in neutral. I knew I was supposed to have it in forward but it slipped my mind. Is there anything I need to do when reinstalling the drive now that I removed it incorrectly?

 

[nola mike]

Oh, I will mention that I made a mistake and removed the drive with the boat in neutral. I knew I was supposed to have it in forward but it slipped my mind. Is there anything I need to do when reinstalling the drive now that I removed it incorrectly?

Just make sure that the shift shoe isn't bent, and that it's parallel to the center line of the boat when the remote is in forward gear

 

[aidanmurphy]

Just make sure that the shift shoe isn't bent, and that it's parallel to the center line of the boat when the remote is in forward gear

Just ran outside to check... They look good to me. Even mated them together no problems ... Will confirm what you said when I go to reinstall the drive. So I should put the shifter in forwards before reinstalling?

 

[dubs283]

I should put the shifter in forwards before reinstalling?

Yes, and verify the shoe on the bell housing is straight along with the foot on the drive

Good idea to verify the drive itself is in fact in fwd gear too, rotate the prop shaft as you install the drive to line up the splines with the coupler

 

[aidanmurphy]

So I can't get the drive back on.. I verified the drive and the helm are in forward, but the drive won't go all the way in. I tried aligning the gimbal bearing multiple times to no avail. Here is a photo of how far I have left to go. If I use a hammer and a block of wood on the back of the drive I do get some movement inwards. Should I tap it the rest of the way or is something amiss?

 

[aidanmurphy]

After a few more tries of pulling the drive back out, re-alining, it still wouldn't slide in. I got it on the threads enough to get nuts on. Then I tightened them in star pattern. This pulled this drive up snug pretty easily, didn't feel like it was binding on anything it just needed help to snug up. Let me know if this was the wrong way to go about doing it though or if I may cause damage

 

[alldodge]

If you were able to slide the alignment bar in and out with 2 fingers, your probably ok

 

[aidanmurphy]

Well, not quite going to plan. After much attempted adjustment of the shift cable, I can't get into forwards with the trim all the way down. If I trim up above the trim limit, then it will go into forwards. Could something be misaligned in the bell housing, should I pull the drive back off? Also, which thru hull is at the bottom of the inside of the transom? It's below the shift cable thru hull, and it's leaking a pretty consistent stream of water. More than before I did the work so I obviously mucked something up. Looks like the trim pump hoses come through it

 

[alldodge]

There is exhaust relief ports there so it may not be an issue

With gear shifting issues, might be an issue with not putting the upper and lower together correctly. With the shift foot rotated fully and hard so it winds up facing straight forward. Prop rotated so it locks CCW and then bungee corded to keep it that way. Now the lower is put together with the upper

 

[aidanmurphy]

There is exhaust relief ports there so it may not be an issue

With gear shifting issues, might be an issue with not putting the upper and lower together correctly. With the shift foot rotated fully and hard so it winds up facing straight forward. Prop rotated so it locks CCW and then bungee corded to keep it that way. Now the lower is put together with the upper

Exhaust relief ports? Could you explain please. And if by upper and lower you mean the bell housing part from the drive, that is possible. I didn't take the lower with the prop shaft off of the upper, I just slid the entire drive out of the bell housing. But I was suspect of the connection in there that actuates the shift foot being properly mated. Reverse and neutral are fine, and I adjusted the lower shift cable to the 6 inch spec, then adjusted the remote shift cable to spec as well. I might have to pull the drive back off and have a look

 

[alldodge]

Not pulling the drive apart then the 2 halves are not part of the problem

The shifting issue is either the cable or the shift foot was bent when removed when not in neutral

The exhaust relief ports are about 1/2 inch size holes on each side of the transom assembly between the trim hose manifold. When running water comes out it in many cases instead of the prop hub

 

[nola mike]

Exhaust relief ports? Could you explain please. And if by upper and lower you mean the bell housing part from the drive, that is possible. I didn't take the lower with the prop shaft off of the upper, I just slid the entire drive out of the bell housing. But I was suspect of the connection in there that actuates the shift foot being properly mated. Reverse and neutral are fine, and I adjusted the lower shift cable to the 6 inch spec, then adjusted the remote shift cable to spec as well. I might have to pull the drive back off and have a look

Are you able to shift the drive with the lower cable disconnected?

 

[aidanmurphy]

There is exhaust relief ports there so it may not be an issue

With gear shifting issues, might be an issue with not putting the upper and lower together correctly. With the shift foot rotated fully and hard so it winds up facing straight forward. Prop rotated so it locks CCW and then bungee corded to keep it that way. Now the lower is put together with the upper

Exhaust relief ports? Could you explain please. And if by upper and lower you mean the bell housing part from the drive, that is possible. I didn't take the lower with the prop shaft off of the upper, I just slid the entire drive out of the bell housing. But I was suspect of the connection in there that actuates the shift foot being properly mated. Reverse and neutral are fine, and I adjusted the lower shift cable to the 6 inch spec, then adjusted the remote shift cable to spec as well. I might have to ime to pull the drive back off

Are you able to shift the drive with the lower cable disconnected?

With the lower shift cable disconnected I can shift the drive by turning the shift boot with my fingers yes

 

[aidanmurphy]

Not pulling the drive apart then the 2 halves are not part of the problem

The shifting issue is either the cable or the shift foot was bent when removed when not in neutral

The exhaust relief ports are about 1/2 inch size holes on each side of the transom assembly between the trim hose manifold. When running water comes out it in many cases instead of the prop hub

The water was leaking through the trim hose area while the motor was off. It's possible I disturbed the gasket for the trim manifold while doing all this work? If that is likely I can reach the trim manifold gasket

 

[aidanmurphy]

After fiddling with the shift cable and redoing my adjustment again it appears that issue is resolved. I can get FWD, neutral, reverse all out of the water. Prop locking how it should.

However, the shift interrupt switch is not being actuated how it should. Is this related to the adjustment of the remote cable? I adjusted the remote cable to spec, with the helm in FWD and the lower shift cable attached, adjust the remote cable to fit properly. Then turn the remote cable barrel 4 turns away from the tip of the cable. Then install..

To me it seems that in reverse the shift interrupt is always active, and when shifting to forwards it does not move at all.