Still having shift issues and need / like some input

[markhodges78]

I have been fighting shifting issues with my Alpha 1 gen 2 drive with s/n 0F321918 for a few years. It started out ratcheting 1 day out of the blue In forward gear so I made an adjustment to the control cable to get off the water. Once I got home I adjusted the cables using the method on youtube posted by achris. After making the adjustments I had forward but no reverse not even a ratcheting sound just dead neutral. So I moved the slide pin on the shift cable all the way to the farthest position before I could get reverse to engage. That worked for a while but then started ratcheting again. So here is what I have done this far.

1st I replaced the shift cable and the cable end shift slide. That fixed the ratcheting problem but I still had to use the farthest position on the slot to get reverse to engage.

2nd I replaced the bushings and seals for the upper shift shaft. Still had to move the pin to farthest position on the slot

3rd I replaced the shift shaft and the upper lever assembly arm. Still had to move the pin to farthest position on the slot

4th I've just replaced the remote control went from a 3000 to a 4000 with new oem cables still I have to use the farthest position In the slot. It's working. so far so good but if anything was to stretch I'm out of adjustment and im not sure why its fighting me so much. I'm out of ideas at this point.

 

[nola mike]

So if unable to adjust properly it means you have slop in the system somewhere. Did you check all of the tolerances as in the video?

 

[markhodges78]

So if unable to adjust properly it means you have slop in the system somewhere. Did you check all of the tolerances as in the video?

Yes I did many times and they were all within spec I have not checked since I put the new controller on but the symptoms are the same so that's why I didn't recheck but I will tonight

 

[Bt Doctur]

worn shift spool? with the drive removed is the shift shoe exactly at 12:00

 

[markhodges78]

worn shift spool? with the drive removed is the shift shoe exactly at 12:00

Yes it is at 12:00 to the best I can tell I'm going to try and check the shift shaft rotational end play without removing the drive if I can't I will remove the drive and just have to pickup another gasket ....... i've went through about 15 gaskets dealing with this problem but no way am I gonna reuse after torquing down on the gasket its kinda a one time use

 

[nola mike]

worn shift spool? with the drive removed is the shift shoe exactly at 12:00

Yeah, that should show up as an increase in the cable throw though--the shoe has to rotate more to engage the gears.

Yes it is at 12:00 to the best I can tell I'm going to try and check the shift shaft rotational end play without removing the drive if I can't I will remove the drive and just have to pickup another gasket ....... i've went through about 15 gaskets dealing with this problem but no way am I gonna reuse after torquing down on the gasket its kinda a one time use

Would be tough to measure it with the drive on, at least accurately. There's specs in the manual including how to measure it.

 

[markhodges78]

Am I over thinking the whole thing ? is it perfectly ok for the cable pin to be all the way at the end of the slot on the shifting arm with brand new cables and controller?

 

[markhodges78]

Ok so I did a little more checking this evening and I found that the play in the shift cable in forward is 0.7 which is more the the 9/16 spec also the throw in the shift cable is 2.3 inch not sure what's acceptable and the shift shoe looks to be a little past 12:00 also with the drive in reverse and the controller in reverse you can see how much the farther the cable goes then the arm

 

[markhodges78]

so I removed the drive and checked the lower shift rod and its a little past 12:00 I believe... here is a picture


Also I checked the end play and it is around 8 degrees

 

[markhodges78]

Here's another picture from above

 

[markhodges78]

Ok problem fixed I replaced the lower shift cable Again ( keep in mind this was a brand new cable only on the water 1 time ) replaced it with an oem cable. But what I found when I removed old cable was a bent cable end so i'm thinking this was actually the problem but replaced the whole cable

 

[tank1949]

I have been fighting shifting issues with my Alpha 1 gen 2 drive with s/n 0F321918 for a few years. It started out ratcheting 1 day out of the blue In forward gear so I made an adjustment to the control cable to get off the water. Once I got home I adjusted the cables using the method on youtube posted by achris. After making the adjustments I had forward but no reverse not even a ratcheting sound just dead neutral. So I moved the slide pin on the shift cable all the way to the farthest position before I could get reverse to engage. That worked for a while but then started ratcheting again. So here is what I have done this far.

1st I replaced the shift cable and the cable end shift slide. That fixed the ratcheting problem but I still had to use the farthest position on the slot to get reverse to engage.

2nd I replaced the bushings and seals for the upper shift shaft. Still had to move the pin to farthest position on the slot

3rd I replaced the shift shaft and the upper lever assembly arm. Still had to move the pin to farthest position on the slot

4th I've just replaced the remote control went from a 3000 to a 4000 with new oem cables still I have to use the farthest position In the slot. It's working. so far so good but if anything was to stretch I'm out of adjustment and im not sure why its fighting me so much. I'm out of ideas at this point.

I had an alpha that even a local shop could fix the shifter. Had to be slop somewhere but we could not find it. Don't feel bad. It would stall engine going from forward to neutral. We restart motor and were able to go in reverse. Going forward it would stall again. Good luck!

 

[markhodges78]

I had an alpha that even a local shop could fix the shifter. Had to be slop somewhere but we could not find it. Don't feel bad. It would stall engine going from forward to neutral. We restart motor and were able to go in reverse. Going forward it would stall again. Good luck!

Yeah just a pain because I have literally dumped about 800 into the shifting issue and the lower shift cable that was found to be the problem is brand new but aftermarket. When I would measure the play in the lower shift cable it would be in spec but what I didn't realize is there was more play in the cable I just wasn't pulling it all out due to the resistance caused by the bend in the rod. I only noticed it with the drive removed I was checking to play in the cable and still felt the resistance in the same place