Shifting Gremlin! Need advise

[cgrooves]

The background info: 1979 Starcraft with a Mercruiser 898 (305) and a Mercriuser 898 (Pre-Alpha) outdrive.

Symptom: Boat would only shift into forward (going into / out of neutral was fine). It would not shift into reverse (would grind & the RPM's would start increasing).

Treatment: Marine mechanic has replaced the lower shift cable, various linkage parts, tightened everything up at the remote, removed / disassembled the outdrive and looked at the shift cam, gears, etc. The boat will shift into forward & reverse just fine if you do it manually at the outdrive or at the location where the cables all meet (but not via the remote). When they adjust the shifting per the service manual, they can't get reverse. When the play around with the adjustment, they can just barely get forward & reverse, but he said he was afraid it would not perform properly on the water (all work has been done on the muffs). He stated that he has checked the entire shifting system from remote to outdrive and can't find what's causing the problem. Should I possibly have the upper cable replaced? Take it to another mechanic?

 

[tommays]

Re: Shifting Gremlin! Need advise

In the service manual there is a spec for play at the shift shaft on the outdrive


If it hs worn from use and it exceds this spec it will not go into F and R correctly no matter how you adjust the cables

This a alpha gen 2 drive but the idea is the same you just need to check in the correct manual for a pre-alpha





Tommays

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Shifting Gremlin! Need advise

In the service manual there is a spec for play at the shift shaft on the outdrive


If it hs worn from use and it exceds this spec it will not go into F and R correctly no matter how you adjust the cables

This a alpha gen 2 drive but the idea is the same you just need to check in the correct manual for a pre-alpha





Tommays

Yup, the lower needs to be disassembled & I suspect there will be excessive wear where the shift crank & the shift spool meet, possiblyboth items are worn.......
Using the test Tom illustrated above the total play can be no more than 12*of play with the drive in gear.....
What happens is the shift slide bottoms out on the bell housing & can't get the little extra it needs to go into reverse......
When the drive is off of the bellhousing, it will go in gear all day long......
You need to either have your lower gear case redone or get a new aftermarket SEI for about $700......
This is the cheapest, easiest remedy, Imho......
In fact, you should just get a new drive for $1195 off ebay....

 

[cgrooves]

Re: Shifting Gremlin! Need advise

I verified with the mechanic that the play at the shift shaft is within tolerance. He told me he could get it working if he separated the shifter from the accelerator (i.e. I'd end up with a lever for shifting and a seperate lever for accelerating), but he didn't want to do that because it would 'look goofy as hell'. I asked him to look it over one more time (especially the upper shift cable, since it has not been replaced), but he's about ready to give up because he isn't making any money just troubleshooting and not actually repairing (i.e. he isn't going to pass along a big labor bill for troubleshooting and not coming up with a fix for the boat).