Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

[snlgraham]

140 Mercruiser, GM inline 4, 1980 version. Have been having hard shifts recently. Today it jumped out of gear and spun. Prop was not spinning but I could see a shaft behind the engine inside the engine compartment that was spinning. Could not get it to go back in gear. After messing with it for a few minutes it began to overheat so I shut it down. Obviously the drive was not turning so the impeller was not pumping water. Had to paddle her back to shore and walk back to docks.
I tried following the shift cable down underneath the back of the engine but cannot reach. I can't get my head in the bilge area to see where the cable goes.
I know there is a possibility of major bad things that may have happened(gears, couplers, shafts, clutch....). But I am wondering(and praying) if something simpler like a shift cable can be fixed while on the water? It is an ordeal for me to get a tow all the way across the lake to the launch from where it is parked. So, I am hoping that I can troubleshoot the shift cable while it is in the slip.
Any other ideas? Hail Mary's?

Thanks,
Shawn

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

You're shift cable has nothing to do with the overheat problem and since you don't want to destroy the engine by running it hot,do the smart thing and get the tow!

 

[snlgraham]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

I know that the reason that it is over heating is that the impeller is not turning and pumpung water. I assume that is because the outdrive is not turning. I don't plan on running the engine without water.
My question is, can a bad or broken shift cable keep the outdrive from turning? If so, can I trouble shoot and repair this on the water or should I even bother?

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

No. A bad cable will either leave you stuck in gear or neutral; either way water pump will be functioning. Sounds to me like the splines broke off the top of the lower unit at the o-ring groove. Boat MUST come out of water and lower removed.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

Or the drive ran out of oil and melted the top gears

 

[snlgraham]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

Okay.
Its taken me almost a month to get around to this. Been on vacation.... Work.... Finding a tow......Getting trailer out of storage....Motivation.

So my next question is...
Is it a big deal to put in a new engine coupler?

Here is what I did. I took the drive off the boat. (140 Mercruiser 1980). This was much easier than I thought it would be. The outdrive seemed to be working properly. It turned and would shift. (Was a little rust on the U-joint). The splines on the drive shaft were beat up but still there. Then I got a flash light and looked inside towards the engine. There was nothing but smooth surfaces. No teeth in the coupling. So..... I think I need to replace the coupler.

My guess as to what has happened. I know I am no mechanic and I am not a marine mechanic. I am a newbie and this is the only boat I have ever worked on. but here it goes....
Some how the engine and outdrive were not aligned properly. Could be the mechanic that replaced the bellows a few years back failed to do this. Could have been that when I replaced a section of stringer in the floor and glassed it back in the engine settled and became out of alignment. Could be that I keep it in the water in a slip for 5 months in the summer and the wood in the transom is getting a bit wet and now warped. Also, the engine interupt is not set right and only some times works making the shifts a bit hard.
What ever it was I just want it to get running. Not woried about it being perfect just want to go fishin take a cruise now and then. This is a beater boat and will dump it if I can't work on it or if it costs me more than its worth.

So back to my question...
Is it a big deal to put in a new coupler?
Looks like the engine needs to be lifted out. Looks fairly straight forward. Is it?

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

It's not a big ordeal replacing the coupler (besides removing the engine) but you MUST align the engine or you could be replacing the coupler again......

 

[snlgraham]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

WHAT!? Did I actualy luck out on this one?
Found this coupler on iboats. its only $1.99! can't be right.

http://www.iboats.com/Engine-Couple...6904333--**********.212265504--view_id.187594

Well.... Having to pull the engine just to replace this part is not exactly lucking out.
But you take what you can get. So I ordered two.
Wish me luck

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

Found this coupler on iboats. its only $1.99! can't be right.

That's obviously a typo.

If it isn't - stock up and go into business selling couplers!


Back to your original question... once you pull the engine, replacing the coupler is an easy job.

 

[snlgraham]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

Typo or not, I got an invoice and tracking numbers!
They have changed the price back so no more deal but they seem to have honored mine.

Well now to plan for the work. I have hit up my friends for a cherry picker to pull the motor with.
My next question is it possible to change the coupler without pulling the motor? Is there some special wrench that may be able to make that angle? Has anyone tried this? There seems to be an inch or so between the coupler and the transom. This is a 140 mercruiser gm 3.0 in a 1980 16ft Barretta trihull.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

You should have this BEFORE you start work.
http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/13/13covr2.pdf
bad alignment can also be from collapsed rear mount bushings

 

[Bondo]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

There seems to be an inch or so between the coupler and the transom.

Ayuh,... PULL the motor,... The coupler is 5" long,+ 4" wide...

 

[sparky71]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

wow ,so did you get that coupler for 1.99?When I looked it said 142.00 on sale from 182.00?LOL Why can't I luck into stuff like that...course I definitely don't want to change my coupler at this point maybe I should be careful what I wish for...

 

[snlgraham]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

Yup! $1.99!
I bought two!
Just tracked them. Should be here tommorrow.

Checking for collapsed motor mount bushings is a good tip. Thanks.
I think my boat is older than the manual listed. I think I have the right one from the Adult Only sticky.

I'll keep you posted.

 

[snlgraham]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

So, my parts came yesterday afternoon. Just in time for a weekend project. Both couplers were there but the box the alignment tool came in was empty! They shipped me a box that was just full of packing! Called the company but its their weekend too. Was hoping to be on the water by Sunday! Not to be!

Decided to get as much done as possible since I won't need the alignment tool to change out the coupler. Came up short with a cherry picker and I dont have a garage. I went to my folks house and used their garage. Pulled the engine with a come along. All went fine. No, much better than I thought it would. I realized how necessary an outdrive stand will be. Was cool, I had my laptop with me in the garage and the pdf manual pulled up. Gonna have to get a cover for my keyboard to protect from the grease.

 

[PNW Driver]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

Don't be surprised if your alignment tool costs 300 bucks after scoring those couplers. LOL

 

[snlgraham]

Re: Can I trouble shoot shift cable on the water?

This should be the final instalment in this of my latest boating sagas. The boat is running great! It is parked in its slip and we have been on the water the last two nights!

iboats replaced the lost alignment tool without any hesitation. Although, seeing how it was packed it is no wonder it was lost.

My engine was out of alignment and needed to be raised 1/4 inch. Problem was that someone had the bolt run to the very bottom of the mount and the nut used to raise the engine was not there! After rebuilding the front mount the engine aligned perfectly. Then I wrestled with the outdrive for atleast two hours trying to get it on. Realized that the ujoint needed to be turned a certain way for it to go in. I adjusted the shift cable(yes, it was also not set right) and it was off to the lake.

She ran beautifully! Shifted smoother and better than it ever has! I thought that it seemed to have a little less power than normal. But after noticing that all my kids had out grown their life jackets and a quick calculation of our weight load, the reason became obvious. We need a bigger boat! Well that is discussion for another day!

Thanks to all of you that helped on this one!