Merc 3.0 not shifting...can shift with rod on outdrive but not from cable

[ipete6]

i was on the boat yesterday and i put the engine into neutral...then when i put it into forward it would just rev. All the cables are fine from the throttle to the shift assembly and the lower cable seems fine. I disconnected the lower cable to move it manually and it would not go into gear. When i move the cable with the engine off i hear something moving in the upper unit of the outdrive but the shift rod wont move. If i put my hand behind the outdrive and move the shift rod it will go into gear. any ideas? helpppppp :facepalm:


Mercruser 3.0 L year:2000
Alpha 1 Gen II
18ft searay bowrider

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Merc 3.0 not shifting...can shift with rod on outdrive but not from cable

pull the drive to see what it is.

 

[brsox88]

Re: Merc 3.0 not shifting...can shift with rod on outdrive but not from cable

The shift cable came loose from the bell housing I am willing to bet. Its happened on one of my boats. You will need to pull the drive, and fix it with a helicoil 1/4 pipe thread or the cost effective way is to drill it, then tap it with a 3/8-18 pipe tap and use a reducer busing (3/8 x 1/4) which you can find at any hardware store. Put it all back together and your good to go. If you have taken a drive off before its about a 3-4 hour job. While you have it all apart you may want to do other work like bellows or gimbal bearing..

 

[ipete6]

Re: Merc 3.0 not shifting...can shift with rod on outdrive but not from cable

what is the best way to take the drive off? do i have to drain the drive oil to do this? and what can cause this to happen?

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Merc 3.0 not shifting...can shift with rod on outdrive but not from cable

what is the best way to take the drive off?

Time to do a little reading on the basics. Take a stroll through the files at the top of the page - in the "Stickies" section. The "adults only" post is not what it sounds like. There are articles and posts on how to do some basic maintenance. This site has some good basic info as well.

And while it is possible the cable has stripped out of the bell housing... I would think that is very rare and not your problem. But you will only be able to find out after you have the outdrive off and understand how the various parts act together.

 

[brsox88]

Re: Merc 3.0 not shifting...can shift with rod on outdrive but not from cable

what is the best way to take the drive off? do i have to drain the drive oil to do this? and what can cause this to happen?

Its not very hard. Just pull the c-clips from the hydraulic rams and pull the rod through. I would then tie the rams up above the drive. Take off the 6 bolts on the front holding the drive onto the bell housing. Pull the drive, and begin to work on the stripped cable. Make sure you get new gaskets and seals, cleaning the old gasket off before installing the new one. Like Fisher said though, there are more in depth articles on how to do this in this forum.

 

[ipete6]

Re: Merc 3.0 not shifting...can shift with rod on outdrive but not from cable

thanks everyone...i pulled the drive and the set screw was nowhere to be found..when we took the drive off we found it on top on the cavitation plate...everything works now

 

[ipete6]

Re: Merc 3.0 not shifting...can shift with rod on outdrive but not from cable

oh and some drive oil got onto the main gasket from putting the drive on is this a problem?

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Merc 3.0 not shifting...can shift with rod on outdrive but not from cable

No problem on the gasket. You did put a new gasket on with the o ring, etc, right? Gaskets are a one-time-use deal. The new one will go on with no sealer. If some oil gets on it, that's okay.