does anyone have a pic of the shifter fork?

WakedOut

Cadet
Joined
Dec 26, 2010
Messages
12
Alright,
I have been combing through this forum looking for intel. So I just reinstalled my lower unit on alpha 1 gen 1. Got it all assembled, made sure to keep the drive locked in forward. Lubed it up, put on the muffs, fired it right up. So I had no reverse. Had neutral and forward fine but no reverse. The control would go into reverse just like normal but the engine would die. So I drained, took the lower back down, checked that I had shifted into forward, made sure the lower was in forward and put her back together. Lubed her back up, muffed up, fired right off. Now, no reverse OR neutral. Only forward. However the shifter will move to neutral and reverse. Again when shift to reverse it dies. Thinking that maybe the shifter is out of the shift fork. Would love some pics of the fork and some ideas of how to rectify the situation. Or if there is a simpler solution by all means, educate me.
 

farmer9009

Seaman
Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
69
Re: does anyone have a pic of the shifter fork?

Alright,
I have been combing through this forum looking for intel. So I just reinstalled my lower unit on alpha 1 gen 1. Got it all assembled, made sure to keep the drive locked in forward. Lubed it up, put on the muffs, fired it right up. So I had no reverse. Had neutral and forward fine but no reverse. The control would go into reverse just like normal but the engine would die. So I drained, took the lower back down, checked that I had shifted into forward, made sure the lower was in forward and put her back together. Lubed her back up, muffed up, fired right off. Now, no reverse OR neutral. Only forward. However the shifter will move to neutral and reverse. Again when shift to reverse it dies. Thinking that maybe the shifter is out of the shift fork. Would love some pics of the fork and some ideas of how to rectify the situation. Or if there is a simpler solution by all means, educate me.

Check to see if your shift interrupter switch is activating causing the motor to die. If it is you may need a new lower shift cable.
 

WakedOut

Cadet
Joined
Dec 26, 2010
Messages
12
Re: does anyone have a pic of the shifter fork?

Where is the shift interrupter switch and how do I check it?
 

Don S

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Aug 31, 2004
Messages
62,321
Re: does anyone have a pic of the shifter fork?

It's not the shift interrupt switch.
Did you have the drive halves seperated?
Sounds like you have the shift shaft installed in the wrong position.
Remove the drive, and turn the shift shaft in the upper gear unit fully clockwise (while turning the prop counter clock wise). When turned fully clockwise the shift shaft should be facing forward as shown in this picture.

attachment.php
 

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farmer9009

Seaman
Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
69
Re: does anyone have a pic of the shifter fork?

Just in case you need it here is the link to information on the switch:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?p=1930449#post1930449
I suspect the switch because your post states that the motor is stalling when you shift into neutral or reverse and you stated that you had the drive in forward when you reinstalled it. If it is because the switch is stalling the motor the problem is often not the switch but the lower shift cable.
Will the drive shift into forward and reverse with the engine not running?
 

WakedOut

Cadet
Joined
Dec 26, 2010
Messages
12
Re: does anyone have a pic of the shifter fork?

will shift into fwd n and rvs when not running. So I dropped the lower again. Made sure all was in line. Started her up. Neutral was fine, forward worked like a champ. Put into reverse and it died again. Started again and the same thing, dies in reverse. Is this a lower shift cable problem? can you point me in the direction of a thread that outlines the replacement of the lower shift cable?
 

farmer9009

Seaman
Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
69
Re: does anyone have a pic of the shifter fork?

will shift into fwd n and rvs when not running. So I dropped the lower again. Made sure all was in line. Started her up. Neutral was fine, forward worked like a champ. Put into reverse and it died again. Started again and the same thing, dies in reverse. Is this a lower shift cable problem? can you point me in the direction of a thread that outlines the replacement of the lower shift cable?

You should post the SN of your Drive and request a link to the manual. This would be the best way to get the instructions. This link may also help: http://www.mercstuff.com/shiftcable2.htm.
Once you replace the shift cable you may want to do the attached service bulletin. This is a common problem to cause the cable to fail.You may want to try adjusting the cable first. Is any part of the shift shaft bent? Sometimes they get bent when people remove or install them when they are not in the forward position?

View attachment service bulletin shift shaft seal.pdf
 

WakedOut

Cadet
Joined
Dec 26, 2010
Messages
12
Re: does anyone have a pic of the shifter fork?

shift shaft appears to be fine. Did not see any bending or anything out of the ordinary.
 
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