Stuck in forward, no neutral or reverse

[Jhilton0816]

i was at dock took boat off trailer and helped take a guy to his boat less than 100 feet away.. so I had to use the reverse and forward to move to his boat... worked fine... well afterwards I turned around back to dock to let wife on and I tried to put in reverse to slow down... and it went forward instead...... so I shut engine off and ittl start but start and the gear stuck in forward no matter what I do... so I had to try and put boat back on trailer and inspected the lower unit outside and saw the rubber bellows torn.... any ideas what caused it and how to fix the shifting issue.... will those torn bellows have just ruined my outdrive? I can spin prop clockwise.....

 

[Jhilton0816]

I have a 2001 Larson with 5.7l Volvo penta pets with volvo sx-m outdrive

 

[89retta]

You have to replace the bellows first . Also check to make sure the shift cable is still hooked up. Can you shift is manually by moving the shifter under the cover ?

 

[Maclin]

Is that the exhaust bellows or driveshaft bellows? Looks like exhaust from that angle.

 

[Jhilton0816]

Well it’s the bottom one so I’m guessing it’s exhaust bellows not sure.
and to be honest I don’t exactly know what cover or where the shifting cable is

 

[Maclin]

Running it without exhaust will not hurt the drive. It needs to be fixed though, to properly route the exhaust so the prop will always have clear water to bite into.

 

[Jhilton0816]

Any one know of a video or guide to help me find the shifter cable as 89retta suggested?

 

[Lewis1111]

Remove the cover on the drive unit...3 bolts..and this will give you access to where the shift cable hooks up to the drive unit..Remove the cable and have someone shift it for you and watch the operation..As well you can manually shift the drive unit from there to check operation

 

[vwbugman69]

The exhaust bellows will have slits cut in it and won't cause any issues. It is the drive bellows that you don't want any tears in.

 

[Jhilton0816]

I’ll have to check it when I get off work in a few. I also noticed the upper bellies for the drI’ve shaft look a little old. There aren’t any tears but in between the ribs the rubber looks like it’s starting to dry rot. I’ve heard people claim bellows are hard to replace.... but I mean from what I can see it’s literally just a tub with hose clamps holding it in place how can that be hard? Anyways I’ll see if I can hopefully google the part number for both bellows shouldn’t be too hard.. I’ll give an update when I get that cover off

 

[Jhilton0816]

Also not sure if it was worth mentioning. But after I came upon my issue I decided to start messing with the shifter handle/throttle. By putting it reverse neutral and forward to see hopefully something that could of been loose to work itself out.. but now when ever I grab it and put it in forward or pull it back into reverse. It has a bit more resistance as if something is binding. Not sure if that helps with identifying the issue.

 

[Jhilton0816]

Wow haha so I took off the panel, and immedietly fixed the problem. Somehow the washer and cotterpin managed to fall out of the lever, which in turn cause the lever to fall out of the hose on the switch.... simply put it back together and shifted fine.


now quick question.... I want to take the boat out for this 4th of July. Since it’s just the exhaust bellows that’s torn you think title be fine?. I mean obviously I should get it fixed for proper use. But all it’s for is dumping out used water right? What could it harm dumping it out the ripped bellows instead of the intended area “the prop I’m guessing?”