Unable to shift Mercruiser 165 I/O

[sddoublee]

I removed the outdrive to replace the gimbal bearing. I have done this before with no issues. The problem is that now I cannot shift the lower unit. It's stuck in sort of a reverse position. I need to know what I did wrong. The way I see it there are two possibilities. I could have messed up the way the shift cable and shift lever are positioned in the upper. The other possibility is that I messed up the clocking of the shifter in where the lower meets the fork in the upper. Boat is a 1971 model year with a newer upper Sterndrive Engineering unit. The lower is a pre-alpha unit. Thanks for the help.

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Unable to shift Mercruiser 165 I/O

Pull the drive, reset the shifter and reinstall.

Probably just made a mistake.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Unable to shift Mercruiser 165 I/O

If the control is free to move back and forth, the upper shift arm has probably come out from between the arms on the shift cable slider. You should just be able to slide the outdrive back and fix it. You need to make sure the shoe on the bottom of the upper shift shaft is pointing straight ahead (forward gear). You should be able to raise the outdrive up a little and manually straighten it out. Good luck.

 

[sddoublee]

Re: Unable to shift Mercruiser 165 I/O

The control is not free to move back and forth when all the cables are hooked up. I removed the shift cable from the gimbal plate inside the boat and the control feels normal. The shift cable can not move in or out. If the problem is in the upper where the cable slide, it seems the cable could be moved in or out easily. That's why I was wondering if I did something wrong on the lower.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Unable to shift Mercruiser 165 I/O

Sounds you you simply have the intermediate shift shaft not "clocked" correctly. Pull the lower, see if the shift cable then slides easily. If so, put everything in forward, and hold it there while you put it back together - with the intermediate shaft pointing forward.

If after pulling the lower your cable is still stuck, then it is time to pull the whole thing and look.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Unable to shift Mercruiser 165 I/O

OK, didn't know the lower was off too. Probably the control was in F, and the lower shift shaft in the gearhousing was turned CCW in R. To correct: shift control into F, (drain oil) drop the lower enough to get onto the lower shift shaft (short splined shaft in front) and turn it all the way clockwise (F). Make sure the washer on the lower ss is in place. Rotate the prop CCW til it locks and hold in place with bungee. Make sure the quad ring is in place and put er back together. Should be good to go.

 

[sddoublee]

Re: Unable to shift Mercruiser 165 I/O

Thanks guys that sounds like what's going on. I drained the oil and am about to head back out and lower the lower.