water pump reassembly problem nissan 5

[theredark]

Hi all,

This afternoon decided to replace the impeller on my Nissan NSF5A outboard. Dropped the lower unit and replaced the impeller ok. Lined up the shift linkage, cooling tube and drive shaft and lowered to parts together but ended up with a half inch gap. Pulled apart and decided that maybe I had moved the shift rod coming from the lower unit. I pulled it up but now it doesn't seem to want to shift anymore. Did I pull something apart in the gearcase? Out of alignment? This is what happens when you don't have a manual handy. Thanks for any input.

Brad

 

[pvanv]

Re: water pump reassembly problem nissan 5

I think you will find that the shift coupler is a 2-piece brass affair with a single bolt through the middle. if the upper rod is down, and the lower rod is up, it might engage too early, resulting in the shifter being way out of adjustment, but the LU should still go all the way up. You probably don't have anything jammed in the LU, but it may be part way in/out of gear. A stiff tug or push while turning the prop should get it to click for you. Ideally, you will want the lower shift rod all the way down, as that's when the coupler is easiest to get to.

Once everything is out of whack with the shifter, as it sounds like yours is, here's what we do in our shop:

Adjust the bolt in the shift coupler clamp so the lower rod will slide through it with minimal drag, and raise the LU back on. You will be able to see the coupler through the access hole (that takes the large rubber grommet) in the side of the leg. Move the shift lever so you can get to the coupler bolt with a 10 mm socket easily. Probably all the way down. The coupler will be retained by the snap ring on the bottom of the upper rod, so no risk of it falling off, unless you loosen the bolt too much, and the two halves drop off.

Get the driveshaft engaged, and the water tube inserted in the top of the wp housing. Now you can install the LU bolts, at least finger tight, to keep it up while you finish up. All that's left now is to final-adjust the shifter. Keep in mind that the LU may not shift if the shafts aren't turning, as it's a purely mechanical clutch dog.

Right now, you don't know (for sure) whether the LU is in N, F, or R. But... once the LU is in place, you can snug the coupler, turn the prop by hand, and attempt to engage the shift lever. If it's only in F, you can see which way to adjust. Likewise, if it's only in R. In the end the coupler should rest on the snap ring of the upper shaft, and you should have a full range of shift: F, N, and R.

The key here is that the shaft has to turn to get into gear. HTH.

 

[theredark]

Re: water pump reassembly problem nissan 5

Thanks for the reply. It was just that the shift rod was in the up position and not facing in the right direction. Once that was corrected I was able to slide it up so easily that it caught my finger in the middle! All set now. New question coming but I'll put it in a different post. Brad