Alpha 1 Gen II speedometer attachment missing

[Skidude17]

I got a new to me boat this year, and I started winterizing it. It is 1995 SeaRay 220 with 5.7L Alpha 1 Gen II drive SN: 0F620818. When I pulled the drive, I noticed the speedometer connector is missing. There is a place for it to attach to the drive, but nothing was attached to it. Is this normal? Will it cause any problems.
Right next to the speedo connector there is an L-shaped rod zip tied to another component (pics attached). The area circled in red in the first pic is the location of the zip tie, and the second pic is more zoomed in. Is this normal? Will it cause any problems?

I did have a few issues this summer, but I think both can be solved by rebuilding the carburetor and adjusting the shift cable. Sometimes it was difficult to restart the engine after it was warm, and it would often die when shifting from reverse to neutral. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Grub54891]

There should not be a pull tie on the shift shoe, it should just go together with the lower shoe, they slide together when you install the drive. I suspect the po had some issues with shifting and attempted to fix it with the pull tie.
When you split the lower from the upper to replace the impeller, check the shift shoe, there should be a stainless fender type washer under the shoe, if not there it will allow the shoe to be to low and not mesh with the upper.
I'd also replace the shift cable while you are in there, they do cause poor shifting, and will cause the motor to stall when shifting.
There's lots of info in the stickys at the top of these forums. Hope this helps a bit.
As far as the speedo fitting, there should be a small barb fitting in front of the shift shaft. They often get broke when pulling the drive. Easily replaced though.

 

[Rick Stephens]

When you split the lower from the upper to replace the impeller, check the shift shoe, there should be a stainless fender type washer under the shoe, if not there it will allow the shoe to be to low and not mesh with the upper.

Agree that there should be no wire tie there. However, the picture is of a Gen2, so there is no washer under a shiftshoe. Just has the 'L' shaped rod sticking up... much better and no worries about a missing washer.

 

[Grub54891]

Agree that there should be no wire tie there. However, the picture is of a Gen2, so there is no washer under a shiftshoe. Just has the 'L' shaped rod sticking up... much better and no worries about a missing washer.

Ah yes, I missed the Gen 2. That is correct.

 

[Skidude17]

As far as the speedo fitting, there should be a small barb fitting in front of the shift shaft. They often get broke when pulling the drive. Easily replaced though.

The barb isn’t broken. I looked before I removed the drive. The end at the drive is there, but there was nothing attached to it. Where does the other end of the speedo attachment go?
My speedometer appeared to work fine while on the water.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Small little 1/4 inch rubber tube comes out of the port side of the gimbal housing. If your speedo is working and you ain't got that tube attached, possible it wasn't used and you have a regular pitot tube screwed into the stern? The Gen2 drive has a pitot hole built into it. Won't hurt a thing is it isn't connected to anything. I always forget to hook it up and never notice since I look at GPS speed all the time.

 

[Skidude17]

Small little 1/4 inch rubber tube comes out of the port side of the gimbal housing. If your speedo is working and you ain't got that tube attached, possible it wasn't used and you have a regular pitot tube screwed into the stern? The Gen2 drive has a pitot hole built into it. Won't hurt a thing is it isn't connected to anything. I always forget to hook it up and never notice since I look at GPS speed all the time.

That makes sense. I think this is my speedo attached to the stern.
Is there a way to check if my lower shift cable needs replacing out of the water? I’d rather not throw parts at a problem without knowing it’s the problem.

 

[Rick Stephens]

The reason everyone was happy that Merc stuck a pitot hole in the leading edge of the Gen2 was so we could avoid drilling holes in the transom of our boats, which eventually will almost always leak water in to rot your transom wood. Sillycone isn't a very good boat sealer, it wears off, cracks and peels loose. Might consider pulling that external pitot and going back to the built into the drive one. Use something like 3M 5200 to permanently seal off the holes.

If you disconnect the lower shift cable at the engine end, you can slide it in and out by hand. It should be silky smooth and easy to push pull in out of reverse and forward gear.

Rick

 

[Skidude17]

If you disconnect the lower shift cable at the engine end, you can slide it in and out by hand. It should be silky smooth and easy to push pull in out of reverse and forward gear.

Rick

I disconnected the lower shift cable last night, and was able to push it towards the stern just fine, but when I went to pull it, it felt like there was a vacuum keeping me from pulling toward the bow. It wasn't rough like I would expect of a worn cable rubbing on the outer sheathing material, but like I said the pulling on something with vacuum or suction. Is this the indicator I'm looking for in a bad lower shift cable?

 

[Rick Stephens]

Next step might be to pull the drive and isolate whether the cable is an issue or the gear box. With the drive out you can turn the shifter shaft easily by hand. Should also be silky smooth.

Having any kind of drag on the cable will cause your motor to die when it engages the shift interrupt switch. Pulling a drive is an annual maintenance task anyway. With it off, you can do the maintenance and checks of whether any water got into the shifter cavity. When water gets in there it ends up getting in the cable housing. That causes drag and corrosion. I have successfully sprayed electronic parts cleaner through the cable housing with the cable out of it, then used compressed air to totally dry it out. No lubricant should be put on the cable itself. Lubricant only ends up causing drag. Cleaning a cable and housing is only useful if the housing has not worn a slot inside it. That slot is what causes it to grab when you pull. A cable housing that is worn must be replaced. I suspect that is what is happening with you cable and suggest it probably needs replacing.

On a new to you boat you should be pulling the drive off and doing ALL maintenance to it. You must assume no one did any of it in the past. Well worth the effort to pull the drive, inspect and grease u-joints, bellows condition, whether everything is dry in there, that the gimbal bearing is perfect. Drain the oil in the drive and see if it has any water in it. Check the lower shift cable and make sure it is perfect. Inspect the wood in the transom and the stringers as well. This all makes sure your boat is safe to take out. Walking back sucks with a boat.

 

[Skidude17]

Next step might be to pull the drive and isolate whether the cable is an issue or the gear box. With the drive out you can turn the shifter shaft easily by hand. Should also be silky smooth.

H
On a new to you boat you should be pulling the drive off and doing ALL maintenance to it. You must assume no one did any of it in the past. Well worth the effort to pull the drive, inspect and grease u-joints, bellows condition, whether everything is dry in there, that the gimbal bearing is perfect. Drain the oil in the drive and see if it has any water in it. Check the lower shift cable and make sure it is perfect. Inspect the wood in the transom and the stringers as well. This all makes sure your boat is safe to take out. Walking back sucks with a boat.

I’ve already pulled the drive and drained the oil. Everything looks good. I tapped all over the transom prior to buying it, and all seems good there. The bellows all seem to be in good shape, but I'm considering changing them anyway since I don’t know the last time they were. I’ll also be changing the impeller and water pump housing, and rebuilding the carburetor. It looks like I’ll be adding the lower shift cable to the list.
How would I go a about inspecting the stringers?

 

[Grub54891]

How would I go a about inspecting the stringers? ​

You would drill a 3/8" hole in a few places, look at the wood shavings that come out. They should be light colored and dry. If mushy and black, you have rotten stringers. If they check out good, re- fill the holes with epoxy. Same for the transom, just don't drill through to the outside of the transom.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I like to use 3M 5200 to fill any test holes. Just as permanent and extremely fast and convenient compared to using an epoxy for a filler.

 

[Skidude17]

Thanks for all the advice guys. It turns out I don’t need a new lower shift cable. It was getting hung up on the rope I was using to suspend my trim rams. That’s why I was getting the vacuum feel where it was harder and harder to pull. I feel a little dumb for that one, but at least I don’t have to monkey with that cable. :laugh:
After doing the engine alignment check, it looks like I’m a little off. I’m going to start a new post for that one. Thanks again!!!