more shift shaft problems!

[NSG14RYDA]

hey merc gurus. heres the deal. i have what to be is somewhere 80-82 mercury 40 hp motor. serial #5897938. ok, changed out water pump and impeller. bolted l/u back up to motor, forward, nuetral but no reverse. ive read almost every post here about this, shafts dont line up correctly. what is the correct reverse location on the gear housing. i want to fing out the right gear locations for this unit. can you guys help me out? how can i tell i am in the right gear? in my p.o.s. clymers it says in nuetral, on this forum the majority say reverse, and some say forward. can anybody tell me which way the shift shaft rotates to the gear i want to be in...she pees up a storm, but i want my gears also...please walk me through this.

 

[Laddies]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

Rev. gear in the lower unit is when you can not turn the prop clockwise with out the driveshaft turning

 

[NSG14RYDA]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

ok. if i have the shift shaft in reverse right...i can rotate it to the right 1 more small turn, what gear is that? now...if the shaft is in reverse position again and i turn it 1 small turn to the left is that nuetral? and if i give it one more turn to the left from nuetral what gear is that forward??? what gear is it when i rotate the shaft passed reverse?

 

[Laddies]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

When you jump by rev gear your in fwd. To help you understand the shifting there is the shift shaft that turns the cam which has 2 small detent notches for fwd and neutral, the highest part has no notch and is rev. The cam pushes on a pin in the middle of the prop shaft that in turn pushes on the clutchdogs cross pin which shifts gears the other side of the cross pin there is a spring that pushes toward fwd gear (fwd gear is default) so when you turn the cam to far it jumps over the lobe and your back in fwd gear. As you can see about 3/4 of a turn your in fwd and thats why I tell people to assm the unit in rev that way you know that the units shaft is in the right position, if you use fwd it can be any where in that 3/4 turn and sometimes if won't shift because of it. Sorry for being so long winded.

 

[NSG14RYDA]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

Laddies, dont worry bout the long post. thanks for taking the time to try and help me out. the better it is explained to me, the better i will understand. my clymers doesnt mention anything at all about this. i will give it another shot tonight after work. i can get all together but i either have no reverse or no forward while doing it. if its off by a spline or two is that why this is happening? so turning the shift shaft all the clockwise and all the way counterclockwise are both forward...and in the middle is nuetral and reverse.

 

[TriadSteeler]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

NSG14RYDA,

The diagram below is for my 1974 Merc 500. It may be of some help.

After looking at the diagram you will see why Laddies suggested working in Reverse.

1. The shift shaft wont move (like in fwd) and

2. It is easy to put the Upper shift rod into the reverse position. (Linkage where the cable attaches.)

Now all you have to do is put the upper linkage all the way to the rear, put the lower unit in the reverse position and reassemble.

 

[NSG14RYDA]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

alright, im starting to understand how this shift shaft works now. you guys are great. i will try to do it as you guys stated in reverse again. one more thing though. i got it to go together in reverse with throttle/shift cable disconnected form the shift lever in the motor. shifter lever on motor in all the way back(what im assumming is reverse right?). it went together, but i didnt have forward. tried to adjust shift cable at engine connection, no dice. tried it in forward, same thing, no reverse and adjusting cable didnt help. seems as if the cable might not have enough travel to move shift lever at engine into reverse. is it possible for the shift shaft on the lower unit to be off by a spline or two and prevent me from shifting into all gears? do you think i might need to move the shift lever at the engine a very tiny bit to line it all up? everything worked fine when dissassembled. by the way they are brandnew cables...gotta love trial and error

 

[TriadSteeler]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

That very well could be it. WORD OF WARNING. DO NOT SHIFT INTO REVERSE WHILE THE LOWER UNIT IS ALL CONNECTED AND THE MOTOR ISN'T RUNNING. It will twist the upper shaft.

Good Luck and let us know how you make out

 

[NSG14RYDA]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

I Dont Believe The Shift Shaft Is Twisted. It Work Before I Even Removed The Lower Unit. Before I Removed The Lower Unit I Switched Out The Shift And The Throttle Cables With New Ones. Everything Worked Fine Before I Took It Apart To Change The Impeller...just Cant Get The Shafts To Line Up Correctly

 

[NSG14RYDA]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

Laddies, thanks for all your info helps me understand how the shaft rotates and position of that reverse cam. it did help to reinstall in reverse (dont know the manual says nuetral, seems more complicated).

Triad Steeler. thanks for the diagram, my manual doesnt explain it like that either. reading the post and looking at the pictures helped me and probably others too.

well i finally got it all together AGAIN. still wouldnt get the right gears. checked the old cables (shift and throttle) no play in them. check the new ones, throttle had no play, shift had some play. thought for a second, control housing. sure enough, the little bracket/ reatiner that holds the shift cable to the lever, slipped out of place and kinda bent. straightened it out and put it back on. put her on the muffs, fired her up. took a minute to start. after that idled like it should and peed like no tommorrow. next thing. i must have a small leak somewhere. it just leaking a bit of water, nothing much. looks like the hose for the peehole is cracked a bit. probably have to change that soon.

anyways guys thanks for your replies and advise. here from ya soon...

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: more shift shaft problems!

Thanks.TriadSteeler for the excellant diagrams. I was trying to figure out the shift dog on my 60 30 hp and they helped a great deal.