mercruiser reverse help needed

[dragrcr65]

I have an 85 chris craft scorpion, with a iron duke 4 cyl and a mercruiser "alpha 1" ( I think) IO, today while approaching a no wake zone I went to put the boat in neutral and the reverse lockout failed, and the boat went into reverse for a short time.
After that, the boat was working fine but making a little noise for about 10 min, than the noise got worse and reverse stopped working, but neutral and forward shifted fine, I took the entire outdrive out and split the 2 halves by reading here and elsewhere, but dont feel comfortable getting anyfarther into the lower yet. am I in need of a new lower? and if so is there anywhere I an get a cheaper used one? I, Like alot of people, dont have a ton of money now, but would like to get my family back on the water if possible.

Thanks for any ideas, I have an abundance of tools, and a good mech. background as a auto tech, but have done NOTHING with boats.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: mercruiser reverse help needed

Welcome to iboats....
Was the sound a clicking sound?......
See if the lower will lock in reverse by turning the shift shaft ccw while turning the prop shaft cw....
If it will, sometimes you can adjust the 'barrel' nut on the shift linkage to get a little more throw on the shift.......
The means for adjustment is outline in the sticky at the top of the page, or in Mercruiser manual #6.....
If it won't go in reverse by doing what I bolded, the clutch dog & reverse gear most likely have rounded teeth & will have problems meshing......
There are special tools (pricey) & techniques involved in removing & reinstalling the prop shaft & the clutch dog......
If you cannot get it to lock in reverse my advice is to get a new after market SEI lower for about 700-800 bucks, bolt it on & go.....
The process to remove the bearing carrier that the reverse gear is attached to is not that hard & only requires a two jaw puller & 1 special tool, then you could look at the condition of the reverse gear & the clutch dog, if you want....
Hope this helps...

 

[dragrcr65]

Re: mercruiser reverse help needed

Im gonna call around and try and find a used one at a good price, and if I cant get one, I will go that route, no sense in spending time on it for with no hope of actually fixing it. Thanks