alpha 1 gen 1 reverse lock

newtoboat101

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
407
bringing boat boat out of winter storage was having water flow issue ,changed engine water pump, thermostat and decided i would check impelleron my alpha 1 gen 1 outdrive,so i dropped the lower outdrive off of the upper ,upper stil attached to boat ,put new impeller and gasket(the kit) on go to re attach lower to upper and can not get on ,so i take upper off boat ,upper is in forward(shifter) position when i take it off,so on a bench ,i put it together, goes together fine i,but i can not lock into either forward or reverse ,prop and u joint shaft can still be forcably moved ,never truly locks in place ,so took back apart ,and turned lower shift shaft CW and prop CCW and everything moves, the impeller shaft moves ,the prop spins,same with reverse ,it will move to neutral and everything is free ,i am assuming its something with lower unit any ideas or suggestions thank you
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
42,548
The shift foot may be one tooth off when the halves went back together

Lower locked counter clockwise
Upper shift foot facing forward when the two halves are slid together
 

newtoboat101

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
407
will try that thanx,would that allow the whole outdrive not to lock either way and when i have lower seperated from upper ,when i use a socket on lower shift shaft to turn CW or CCW the whole unit still turns or rotates together prop and impeller shaft or is that normal or should lower unit lock up when lower shift shaft is turned either CW or CCW when on bench only ,or does the lock up part only apply when i put upper and lower together and impeller shaft with splines goes into upper gear or upper unit?
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
42,548
Normally it would only happen in one direction. Since it was working fine before impeller replacement, this is what I would check first along with if the cable is attached correctly and not broke
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,344
with the lower shaft turned fully clockwise and the prop locked CCW ,you in full forward. lower the upper on the shaft keeping it in a straight line with the prop.
I only hope you DID NOT draw the drive together using the nuts
 

newtoboat101

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
407
Bt doctur i have on a bench and put upper on top of lower and seems to go together fairly easy but CW. Lower shift shaft and CCW. Prop is doesnt lock in .you can turn prop and drive shaft all turn. When all together upper and lower turn intermediate shift shaft. the brass one .all the way CW it never locks prop doesnt lock when i move intermediate shift shaft to CCW IT WILL GO TO NEUTRAL AND WHEN I GO ALL THE WAY CCW it will it will go but can still turn all internal shaft with prop. Can that intermediate shift shaft being off one tooth cause this?
 

newtoboat101

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
407
Bt doctur i have on a bench and put upper on top of lower and seems to go together fairly easy but CW. Lower shift shaft and CCW. Prop is doesnt lock in .you can turn prop and drive shaft all turn. When all together upper and lower turn intermediate shift shaft. the brass one .all the way CW it never locks prop doesnt lock when i move intermediate shift shaft to CCW IT WILL GO TO NEUTRAL AND WHEN I GO ALL THE WAY CCW it will it will go but can still turn all internal shaft with prop. Can that intermediate shift shaft being off one tooth cause this?
Bt doctur i have on a bench and put upper on top of lower and seems to go together fairly easy but CW. Lower shift shaft and CCW. Prop is doesnt lock in .you can turn prop and drive shaft all turn. When all together upper and lower turn intermediate shift shaft. the brass one .all the way CW it never locks prop doesnt lock when i move intermediate shift shaft to CCW IT WILL GO TO NEUTRAL AND WHEN I GO ALL THE WAY CCW it will it will go but can still turn all internal shaft with prop. Can that intermediate shift shaft being off one tooth cause this?
An you turn intermediate shift shaft to far CCW and disengage
 

newtoboat101

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
407
alldodge what cable are you refering to shift cable from boat ? that seems fine ,and i had put outdrive on boat and was running ,so it has to be something in the way i have put upper and lower together,i only noticed that it would not lock up when i went to re install and the prop would not lock up,and drive shaft kept rotating so i took outdrive apart AGAIN and found that i could not get prop to lock by moving lower shift shaft CW ,or maybe it is locking ,if ,with lower unit by its self ,shift shaft CW will all parts move (prop,impeller shaft)or should they lock up ,or only when the to are matched ,upper and lower will you be able to lock prop
 

newtoboat101

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
407
also ,how easy is it to tear up the inside of intermediate shift shaft ,by being 1tooth off could it strip or damage inter shift shaft
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
42,548
Yes, I was talking about the shift cable. Didn't think that would do it but your issue has to be the drive or cable

Your not going to damage the shaft seal by putting the 2 halves together even if its off one tooth.

As BT mentioned, the drive should slide completely together and not need bolts to bring it together. It should slid together before the bolts are tightened

Can you get the prop to lock up by rotating the shift shaft by hand in either direction?
 

newtoboat101

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
407
no ,with the lower unit on table
Yes, I was talking about the shift cable. Didn't think that would do it but your issue has to be the drive or cable

Your not going to damage the shaft seal by putting the 2 halves together even if its off one tooth.

As BT mentioned, the drive should slide completely together and not need bolts to bring it together. It should slid together before the bolts are tightened

Can you get the prop to lock up by rotating the shift shaft by hand in either direction?
no ,it never locks ,have lower half on table ,socket on lower shift shaft turn CW take prop and while holding socket ,i CCW the prop,but no lock up ,what happens is the shaft going into upper unit rotates when i spin the prop ,if i take shift shaft to CCW slightly the prop will spin freely ,then take shift shaft alittle more CCW and CW my prop a get same action ,shaft into upper turns as i turn prop ,so,i have to as ume, what ever switches from forward or reverse in lower is not correct looked at schematic ,but still do not know how that lower works ,if you could please explain thanx kent also two halves go easily together never bolted down to get them together
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
42,548
The clutch moves FWD/REV and engages one of the gears as the shift shaft is turned. It sounding like the lower needs to come apart because the clutch is not moving

This is from manual 6
slide 3.jpgSlide2.JPG
 

newtoboat101

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
407
ya ,it does thanx for all information, ill get back to you soon ,any sort of special tool list available for this project ,i have marine club(guys who hang out , after work ,drink beer and work on 40+ft jet boats ) down from my work and could maybe get tools loaned to me thanx
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
42,548
Haven't worked on a Alpha in many years, just Bravo for me. You need manual 6 before starting. Without the manual things can go wrong. The list of tools for the lower is called for, but some may be able to use others. Someone like @Bondo or @Bt Doctur can advise better

tools.jpg
 

newtoboat101

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
407
UPDATE took it over to the marine guys near me and let them look at it ,and we decided that not having a sleeve for intermediate shift shaft was making to much play in intermediate shift shaft ,got new sleeve for the upper unit ,and all went back together no problem thanx for you help
 
Top