3.0 cobra shift problems!!!!

[Duck~killer]

My 3.0 cobra will not come out of gear easily. It goes in gear easy in both forward and reverse but it's hard to pull out of gear. Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks advance.

 

[southkogs]

Welcome aboard DK:

Is this a new problem, or something that has gone on for a while? Can ya' give any idea of something that happened in the past when it started shiftin' hard?

 

[Duck~killer]

I recently purchased this boat so all this is pretty new to me. It shifts normally when it's on the trailer.

 

[southkogs]

I don't know the Cobras well enough to tell you exactly what to look at, but I would explore two things at least - ESA and Shift Cable. You'll need someone with a little more knowledge than I have though ...

 

[Duck~killer]

Ok thanks for the help. I will keep searching till I figure it out. I might have to bring it to someone but I will get. LOL

 

[ruggles]

Sounds like your esa isn't functional. It shifts fine on muffs because there isn't any force on the prop being out of the water.

 

[Lou C]

Sticky transom shift cable, crud built up behind the shift bellcrank in the pivot housing, inoperative ESA.

 

[bruceb58]

Sticky transom shift cable, crud built up behind the shift bellcrank in the pivot housing, inoperative ESA.

A sticky transom shift cable is not causing this since a sticky shift cable would cause the ESA to operate all the time, even going into gear and on the trailer.

It's the ESA that is not working.

 

[Duck~killer]

Ok thanks for the info I will go check that out right now. I will keep you posted. Again thanks for the help.

 

[jerryjerry05]

What are the rpms while at an idle? Too high and it affects the function.
The shift assist is more than likely the problem.
It momentarily kills the engine so you can take it OUT of gear.
Going in gear the units not needed.

 

[Duck~killer]

Its right at 700 RPMs

 

[bruceb58]

With the engine running, manually depress the ESA shift switch and see if the engine stumbles.

What year is your Cobra? If it was a year that still had points, has it been converted to an electronic ignition?

 

[Lou C]

I had a problem with the bellcrank being crudded up and the ESA wasn't engaging ( cable adjustment was way off when I got it). The ESA could be engaged manually but wasn't when it should have been by the shift linkage.

 

[Duck~killer]

No Title

Where would the ESA switch be I have a set of Morse controls like this. My set up is a 93' it is in a Shrimp boat that I recently purchased.

 

[bruceb58]

It's on your engine. Look for something that looks similar to this and hold the interrupt switch while the engine is running;

 

[Duck~killer]

Ok I checked all the wires, pulled off all the electrical tape off and cut all the cable straps off. I do not have any switches on it I have a plug for it but that's it. LOL Is it possible that it could be bypassed

 

[bruceb58]

Ok I checked all the wires, pulled off all the electrical tape off and cut all the cable straps off. I do not have any switches on it I have a plug for it but that's it. LOL Is it possible that it could be bypassed

Where did you do all of this? Have a picture?

The shift switch is on the housing where the lower shift cable meets the console shift cable on top of the engine.

 

[Duck~killer]

No Title

This is what my shift control looks like.

 

[bruceb58]

Yep, someone removed all the ESA switches and cams. You need to replace all that or it will never shift right.

That really sucks by the way!

 

[bruceb58]

This is something you may want to think about getting.
http://www.greenbayprop.com/content...ra_3_0_4_cyl_shift_actuator_bracket_1988.html

Looks like your ESA module is still there. Not sure about the wiring.

What year is your drive and what distributor is on there?