!975 Merc 888 grinding when going into forward.

[lurch67]

I have a 1975 crestliner with a 302 and a merc 888 drive. When I bought it I just saw it run in the driveway with the muffs on and never ran it on the lake or shifted it myself. We ran it on the muffs for about 10 minutes, ran through the motions with no problem. When I got home I wanted to check the condition of the lower unit oil. I thennoticed the plug was out. We had run it in the driveway with the muffs on with no oil in the lower unit. The guys at the Merc shop said as long as it wasn't for that long and we didn't go into the lake that its not going to wreck anything. Well needless to say I filled the lower unit when I got home and started her up. I was able to shift into reverse with the normal clunk. But couldn't go into forward without it grinding. I was easing into forward and reverse, based on other threads is that my problem. Or did I wreck something??? I am new at the old IO's so help me get past the grinding noise. One thing I notice is the shifter is very sloppy. and I had a hard time finding neutral.

 

[Bondo]

Re: !975 Merc 888 grinding when going into forward.

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,.... Top it off with a quality Syn-oil, 75W-90, 'n Try it....

Yes, Alpha drives need to be shifted Briskly....

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: !975 Merc 888 grinding when going into forward.

If you are trying to shift through the gears while on muffs, it can be difficult as there is no friction on the prop from the water. Try shifting the gears while the engine isn't running and you have someone to rotate the prop by hand to make sure it locks in both directions.

 

[lurch67]

Re: !975 Merc 888 grinding when going into forward.

There seems to be some play in the old shifter. I think it is original. It doesn't say mercruiser or any thing on it. Can I get a new shifter and hook it up to the existing cables? It also would be nice to get the trim on the shifter instead of on the dash.