Hard to shift forward or reverse

[wayne22]

I have 1997 Merc 3.0L with Alpha 1 drive. Boat was fine all day until I got back to the marina. It was difficult docking the boat because it was hard to shift forward or reverse...especially in reverse. Trim was all the way down.
Managed to dock the boat safely and shut the engine off. With the engine not running I can shift it to the forward or reverse position with no problems. I raised the outdrive all the way to inspect for damage. Didn't see anything wrong.
With engine running it's hard to Shift, Engine not running easy to shift!

What is the problem?

Thanks,

 

[f_inscreenname]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

Sounds like the shift interrupter switch is out of whack and will need adjustment.

 

[Don S]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

Was it hard to shift into forward or reverse or hard to shift back into neutral from forward or reverse.
Makes a big difference!

 

[wayne22]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

Seems like both, from neutral to forward or reverse and forward to neutral or reverse to neutral. I'll try it later today. Can I still use the boat for today? Is it going to damage other parts?

What is the difference if it's one or the other?

If it's the shift interrupter switch, how do I make the adjustments? Is it covered in any Mercruiser manual or the Clymer manual?

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/6/6covr3.pdf

IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS SHIFTING INTO GEAR.....
I would suspect a bad shift cable or lack of lubrication on the shift plate pivot points.....
If you are having trouble shifting out of gear, I would suspect a bad or out of adjustment shift interrupter switch.....
If you look in the FAQ's Achris has a post on the proper adjustment of the switch.......​

 

[wayne22]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

The boat was at the dealer for a clacking noise. refer to my previous post
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=196977
Ended up being a valve needing adjustment and engine mounts needing adjustments.
Could adjusting the engine mount change the adjustment on the shifting cable or switch?

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

The boat was at the dealer for a clacking noise. refer to my previous post
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=196977
Ended up being a valve needing adjustment and engine mounts needing adjustments.
Could adjusting the engine mount change the adjustment on the shifting cable or switch?

It should not....
Unless the lower shift cable was on it's way out anyway.....

 

[wayne22]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

I looked at the boat today and tried to put it in gear and had no problem to do so.
It seems like it's happening at random.

 

[wayne22]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

I was out on the boat today and the problem came back.
What seems to be happening is I'll be in forward or reverse gear, then i'll put it in neutral to try to slow down, but it's stays in the gear that it was last in and keeps moving. I'll then try to put it in the opposite gear to make sure it slows down but this is where it's really hard to shift. To reset evrything, I'll turn the engine off and everything back to normal. Start engine and normal until I repeat the above procedure.

Is it the shift interrupter switch or cables? or something else?
How do I fix it? Is it easy to fix? Expensive??

Thanks

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

Replace your lower shift cable....
About $65........
You have the link on how to perform it above....
You will need a special shift cable tool....$20.....​

 

[wayne22]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

I was out on the boat to adjust the shift cable....didn't seem to make any difference(not sure if I was doing the right adjustments) but I did notice when I shift out of gear, there's a 1-2 second delay on the interrupter switch before the roller go back in the groove and that's when it goes in to neutral thus allowing me to put it in gear again.

Is it still the cable or the switch that's faulty?

 

[freddyray21]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

when the shift cables go bad there is no adjustment. Been there tried that. replace it.

 

[wayne22]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

Which one? the one that goes to the drive or the shifter or both?

 

[wayne22]

Re: Hard to shift forward or reverse

I tried to test the shift interrpter switch and the purple wire was loose ...barely hanging on...it came off as i tried to do a reading with a multimeter. I soldered it back on. Anyway if I do the reading test as per the manual seems like it's an open circuit. If I attach the + lead from the multimeter to the white/green wire from the block and put the - lead from the multimeter to the purple wire from the switch I still get an open circuit until I move the roller approx. 3/16 - 1/4 inch away from the groove, then I get a zero. Is this what is causing the 1-2 second delay before it goes back in to neutral.

thanks