I added more problems to my impeller change....

[reefkrazy]

sterndrive is a 83 alpha one gen one. I cannot for the life of me get it to shift from forward to neut and reverse. The washer is in the shift shaft. How do I make sure the lower unit is in forward gear? The shift shaft is pointing forward but i noticed it moves clockwise to ingage in gear..which is oppisite to how the shift cable goes. Any advice would be great! Thanks!

 

[stonyloam]

Re: I added more problems to my impeller change....

Couple of questions and we can figure this out, only three things can go wrong, one is the washer, no issue there. Did you remove the whole outdrive or just the gearhousing? First, place the control in forward position. Try to turn the prop. If it locks when you turn it CCW (looking from behind the boat) you are forward. If it locks CW you are in reverse. If you are in reverse and the control handle jams when you try to shift, the intermediate shift shaft is "off a spline". If it is in forward and the shifter moves freely back and forth, the most likely cause is the shift slider at the end of the cable has disengaged from the upper shift shaft lever. When you shift to reverse from forward the shift shaft should rotate CCW.

 

[reefkrazy]

Re: I added more problems to my impeller change....

Ok, I first removed the whole sterndrive off then brought it home. I then put it on it's side and seperated the upper and lower halves. As far as the shifter.....was all the way forward..when I put the whole sterndrive back in and pulled the lever back. It was hard to pull it to the neutrail position. It wouldn't go into reverse.
It didnt matter what gear i was in on the throttle because the prob would just free spin. When I took it apart and moved it agian. I moved the shift shaft so when it was in the forward position I thought it was locked into forward. turned it slightly to the left ( faceing the shift shaft it free spun. Then farther to the left, it was reverse. When facing at the transom, I had my son shift from forward to neut to reverse. I noticed the shift shaft "coupler" moved counter clockwise. when facing the same direction, my shift shaft turns clockwise.

 

[reefkrazy]

Re: I added more problems to my impeller change....

I belive that my problem is the shift shaft. Does the pin have to be moved all the way in one direction b4 the shift shaft "boot " be put on ?

 

[stonyloam]

Re: I added more problems to my impeller change....

OK all I need to know. Your gearcase was in reverse rather than forward when you put it together. So here is how to fix it: Shift the control to forward. Unbolt the gearhousing (lower) and drop it down. Turn the lower shift shaft (short splined shaft) all the way clockwise (forward gear) and turn the prop CCW till it locks. Use a bungee to hold tension on the prop to keep it locked n forward. Make sure the stainless steel washer is in place on the lower shift shaft. Put it back together with the top of the intermediate shift shaft pointing straight ahead, so that it mates fully with the bottom of the upper shift shaft. Bolt it back together and you should be good to go. What happened was the gearhousing had slipped out of forward and was in reverse (lower ss turned CCW and even the intermediate ss was pointed straight ahead it was "off a spline" on the lower ss) and when you tried to shift it tried to turn the lower ss farther CCW and it would not go. So in the future you need to make sure that BOTH the control handle and gearhousing stay in forward gear when it goes back together. Good luck.

 

[reefkrazy]

Re: I added more problems to my impeller change....

Awsome ! Thank you so much! This was driving me crazy. Im a pro at taking it apart and puting it back together now lol. Now if I can just do it right.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: I added more problems to my impeller change....

Just think how easy it will be next time. Let us know how it works out, if that does not fix it there is only one other thing that can go wrong, but we won't go there for now.

 

[reefkrazy]

Re: I added more problems to my impeller change....

Just think how easy it will be next time. Let us know how it works out, if that does not fix it there is only one other thing that can go wrong, but we won't go there for now.

You where spot on! I never noticed that when your in forward on the shift shaft and the prop truns just slightly clockwise, it throws it out of gear. We are talking just turning it a mm. Thats what happened to me from the get go. I did just like you said and used a bungi cord and it worked. The shift shaft is turning properly with the throttle lever. Thank you agian!