Can't shift out of forward with drive installed

[Uraijit]

I pulled my outdrive off a while back, to swap the engine, and replace the water pump impeller.

It's a pre-Mlpha Merc 260 drive (MC-1, I believe it's called).

Today, I finally got the drive back on.

But when the drive is on, it won't shift back out of forward.

I have pulled it off and put it back on several times. The shift cable is smooth and does not bind when the drive is off. The drive is also easy to shift between gears.

I made sure the drive and boat were in forward gear when I install the drive. I've double checked that the shift dog is lined up with the shifter slot on the transom assembly. The block on the end of the shift cable is right side up, and the shift cog is sitting in it properly.

I have NO idea what could be wrong with it. I did have my wife bump the engine over with the drive in forward, and it seems to be turning backward!

I don't know if this means that the idiots who sold me the starter, sent me a reverse-cranking starter. It was getting too dark, and I had a dead battery, so I couldn't check to see what direction the engine was cranking.

Anybody think that I've just got really bad luck, and have a problem with the drive, AND a reverse-cranking starter (haven't been able to get the engine to start either), or is there something retarded that I might have done, which would cause it to not shift out of forward, and be spinning the drive in reverse?

This has been the worst week of my life (not including the boat issues). Anybody got any help to offer? Or should I just kill myself now?

 

[woody66912]

Re: Can't shift out of forward with drive installed

maybe kill the boat but not your self.drop the lower and rotate shift shaft clock wise then when reinstalling lower keep light pressure counter clock wise on prop shaft.it sounds like your doing it right but it's falling out of forward and going into neutral. just think how good you'll feel when the plan comes together . you should be able to spin prop shaft just a bit to line up drive shaft splines.

 

[Don S]

Re: Can't shift out of forward with drive installed

Did you pull the drive when you changed the impeller, if so, the shift slide may have come off the roller where the shift shaft and cable connect in the bellhousing.
If you had the drive installed when you put the upper and lower together, did you get the shift shaft in the upper properly clocked with the shift shaft in the lower?
Pull the drive and and while turning the prop counter clockwise turn the shift shaft CLOCKWISE until the shift dogs lock in. Is the upper shift shift shaft pointed straight forward? If so, turn the prop clock wise and the shift shaft CCW and see if the shift dog catches for reverse. Neutral should be halfway between.

 

[Uraijit]

Re: Can't shift out of forward with drive installed

Did you pull the drive when you changed the impeller, if so, the shift slide may have come off the roller where the shift shaft and cable connect in the bellhousing.
If you had the drive installed when you put the upper and lower together, did you get the shift shaft in the upper properly clocked with the shift shaft in the lower?
Pull the drive and and while turning the prop counter clockwise turn the shift shaft CLOCKWISE until the shift dogs lock in. Is the upper shift shift shaft pointed straight forward? If so, turn the prop clock wise and the shift shaft CCW and see if the shift dog catches for reverse. Neutral should be halfway between.

Yes, pulled the whole drive, because the engine came out at the same time for replacement. As I said before, the drive shifts fine when it's off the boat.

I think I may have pointed the shift dog exactly oposite of where it's supposed to be, when I put the two halves together. If all the way clockwise is forward, and CCW is reverse, then I'm about 90% sure that's what I did. This would explain the drive not wanting to shift any further (because it's already at full CCW rotation), as well as the propshaft spinning in reverse (because it's actually IN reverse) Doh! I think I was just so tired and frustrated from pulling the drive 9 times, that I couldn't think it all through.

I knew you guys would come through for me!

Many thanks, I'll check on it and let you guys know how big of an idiot I am.

 

[Uraijit]

Re: Can't shift out of forward with drive installed

Well, I promised to update, so here it is.

I dropped the lower unit, turned the shift shaft fully clockwise. After some jiggling, and a couple of times of knocking it out of drive while trying to line up the splines on the input and shift shafts, I got her on, and shifting solidly into all gears.

Then I directed my efforts to the no-start issue.

Turns out I'm doubly retarded these days. I was 99% sure I'd stabbed the distributor properly, but it was 180deg. out. Turned it around 180 deg, and it roared to life in an instant. I shut her off, and re-routed the wires. I'll have to make a mental note that the wires are backwards, but I think I'll remember it after the headache it's been.

I must say, this seems like a good solid engine build. I'm quite pleased with myself... It purrs like a kitten at idle.

Went ahead and broke in the cam, timed her up, and gave it a basic look-over, on the muffs. She ran great, and the gauges all looked good (getting about 55-60PSI in oil pressure, and running dead center of the "green" area on the temp gauge. Not sure what that actual temp is, but that's good enough for me for now.

Almost like clockwork, when the 20 min break-in was about over, the engine sputtered, and died. She fired right back up, and ran fine. I've got a little concern about this, but I'm not sure what to check. I ran it a couple more times for about 5 min. at a time, and it didn't happen again.

Found that the intake hose was leaking where it connects to the transom plate. I think it was just the rubber spacer thing being a little ****-eyed in the hose. Got re-positioned it, and hopefully she'll be leak-free now. It was getting too dark to see, so I'll check it tomorrow and make sure we're leak-free.

Then I just have to screw the interior back together, and take her out for her first sea-trial tomorrow afternoon. Woulda done it today, but the late evening hours seemed like a bad time for a sea-trial, so we're shooting for mid-afternoon tomorrow. We'll probably just take it easy at first (no hole-shots), but there may be a tube involved in the trials.

Wish us luck guys, we could really use it after all the head-ache we've gone through to get to this point!