Mercruiser 888 outdrive alignment

[76SRV190]

I removed the lower unit of my old Mercruiser type 1 outdrive to rebuild the water pump. After I reinstalled it the lower unit is locked in forward gear. The shift lever in the boat appears to be working but the boat is not shifting. I think my problem has something to do with aligning the shifting spline in the lower unit with a tube that is hanging down from the upper unit. I just don't know how to tell the proper orientation of those two components.

A Quick question about the forums, I posted a similar question last night just before I went to bed and this morning it was gone. Did I do something wrong ?
I assumed that you just post a question and then come back later to check and see if anyone was kind enough to offer assistance.

Don't answer the second question unless you are already answering the first. I really don't want the thread to revolve around the 2nd question, I was just interested because I want to do this right.

Thanks

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser 888 outdrive alignment

About the only way you are going to find why it's stuck into forward is to take it apart and look. Something isn't lined up.

You posted your other thread in the outboard secion, not outdrives like you did this time.
Here's that post http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=200220

 

[76SRV190]

Re: Mercruiser 888 outdrive alignment

Thanks for the info on my first post. I guess I wasn't paying attention.

I have already taken the outdrive apart to look at it but being new to boat repair I'm not sure what the linkage connection should look like or if it is properly aligned. I'm really looking for someone who can tell me how to be sure I have the alignment right before I reassemble it again.

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser 888 outdrive alignment

Did you remove the drive from the boat, then disassemble the lower and upper, or did you just pull the lower unit from the

 

[76SRV190]

Re: Mercruiser 888 outdrive alignment

I just removed the lower unit. The boat is sitting on a hoist in the bay teasing me right now.

When I removed it I followed instructions from a manual and had the shift in forward gear. When I reinstalled it I was sure that the shift lever was still in forward and then made sure that the lower unit was also locked into forward by rotating the driveshaft clockwise and rotating the prop counterclockwise until it locked into forward. In the front end of the upper unit there is a small tube with a cotter pin running through it that goes over the splines on the lower unit. I don't know how to tell if that tube and the steering spline are lined up properly.

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser 888 outdrive alignment

You have to turn the lower shift shaft as you were doing and make sure it doesn't slip out of forward. A bungee cord on the prop to hold some tension on it help. Then put the lower up and make the splines to the shoe.
It can be kind of tricky the first time, getting the splines for the shifter, the water tube and the shaft for the vertial shaft all lined up at the same time.

If all else failes, pull the upper and put it on the lower, then install the whole thing on the boat. That should be done yearly anyway to check the ujoints, gimbal bearing and alignment.

 

[76SRV190]

Re: Mercruiser 888 outdrive alignment

I think that will help. I was turning the drive shaft not the lower shift shaft.

The bungie sounds like a great idea too. I was just trying to hold it in place as I tried to line everything up.

Is there anything special about the way the tube for the linkage connects to the splines in the lower unit ? It wasn't stationary and I had to twist it to lock it into position before the reassembly.

I thought that pulling the lower unit would be easier than pulling the entire outdrive. I'm not the biggest guy in the world and I was doing this mostly alone although I did have my wife come out and help me put the first couple of nuts on when I was putting it together.

I appreciate all of the advice.

 

[76SRV190]

Re: Mercruiser 888 outdrive alignment

The problem was that I took the lower unit off while the boat was on a hoist.
Working from underneath I never noticed that the linkage was visible from the outside of the upper unit. Once I found that lining up the linkage with the shift spline was a piece of cake. I did have to adjust the linkage but everything went well.

Thanks Don for the help.