not shifting into forward gear

[redneck joe]

Hello all, been a minute since i've talked about boats on here. A bit of background:

Boat was put up 3 seasons ago after loosing a battle with a 2x10 floating in the fog on a beautiful september morning. Boat ran for a couple more trips, maybe 20 hours of run time, before death took hold.

Had the sterndrive pulled and dude at the time told me bad so just put up for the season then life happened and been sitting.

Now I have at a shop to have a 'new' sterndrive put on. I picked up a couple MC1's that were purportedly on running, but rotted, boats. Dude bought them for the blocks to put in a go fast he was rebuilding.

So current dude, who i feel good on qualifications for reasons I won't bore you with atm, called last night and told me that it was not shifting into forward. Two options were a bad shift cable or something in the 'new' sterndrive not allowing to get into forward. Neutral and reverse are fine.

He doesn't do shift cables anymore - something about to old to stand on his head.

I didn't press him for too many details because I like to sound like I have at least a basic understanding of what is involved, but really do not on this one. Add tot that I was a couple five glasses of wine into the night and can't remember exactly what he said about why the sterndrive would keep it from shifting.


So I guess my question to start is what would be in the sterndrive to not allow to shift and also why would a lost battle with the 2x10 do to the shift cable?




as usually
i'm sure i'm leaving out pertinent info so be patient with me.

 

[Bt Doctur]

a broken outer shift cable casing at the gimbal housing

 

[kenny nunez]

If your shift cable outer jacket is not broken and the cable moves freely the problem may be in the drive where the shift slider moves to the rear of the case. Sometimes there is a build up of marine grime in there that stops the slider from going far enough. Remove the drive and check this out.

 

[achris]

A few questions.
1. What is a '2x10'? (Non-American here. Remember, you're talking to an international audience)
2. What age is your transom assembly?
3. What age is the new drive?

There was a significant change to the drive and shift system in the mid 70's. And without modifying the cable and shift plates, the drives are usually not compatible. They look the same (on the outside), but the shift system is enough different for there to be problems.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Achris, its 1/5th of a 10 by 10 log

 

[achris]

Achris, its 1/5th of a 10 by 10 log

10 what? I don't think it'd be (what do you call those things?) ah, yes inches. Because that's 25cm, and that would be a log you could use to hold up a friggin' house!

 

[isaacs]

10 what? I don't think it'd be (what do you call those things?) ah, yes inches. Because that's 25cm, and that would be a log you could use to hold up a friggin' house!

Yes, a 2 X 10 is (sort of) measured in inches. It's actually smaller than that because I think the size is based on the size of the rough piece of lumber before it is planed. At any rate, it would measure 3.8cm by 23.5cm by whatever length happened to be floating around. It could certainly do a job on an outdrive!

 

[Scott06]

A few questions.
1. What is a '2x10'?

in layman‘s terms a big F’ing piece of wood that will mess up your boat if you hit it.
lumber used for floor joists in typical US construction,40 mmx 215 mm x 4 m long...

 

[achris]

... It could certainly do a job on an outdrive!

A bit like some of the reefs we have around here.

 

[Bt Doctur]

think telephone pole

 

[achris]

think telephone pole

All our phone lines are underground.

 

[redneck joe]

OK, looks like we got the 2x10 thing cleared up.

Not sure of ages, but the transom assembly is an Alpha (upgraded a couple years back) and the drive is an MC1 - the one with the 'ring' on the top plate. Boat is a 1979.

When we did the transom assembly upgrade I had an SEI 106 on it. Side note - when I hit said log, I was three months out of my SEI unconditional warranty....

 

[kenny nunez]

This is a long shot but the drive you are currently using may still have the original steel shaft with the splines worn/rusted away. I know the stainless ones started showing up in the mid 70s but you have to check. Is the bell crank tight on the bell housing shaft, sometimes the rivet that holds the roller also can get loose. Any slack in the shift system can cause the problem plus the one about the slider being restricted.

 

[nola mike]

We don't know if the problem is in the drive or in the shifting controls. This should be the first thing done (and should have been done already).

 

[redneck joe]

he hasn't called, and i'm an old guy getting back into construction / remodeling and the days seem alot longer than 20 years ago. !0 - 12 hour days are taking their toll.

I'll call him tomorrow.

 

[achris]

... the days seem alot longer than 20 years ago. 10 - 12 hour days are taking their toll.....

Tell me about it!

 

[redneck joe]

ok, so the winner is.....













Shift cable. I think he called it inner.

so new shift cable
new impeller
charged up three year old batteries (one good still)
fixed neutral safety switch (didn't start)
aired up four tires
new unit on and tested.
He used my gas, said all ran well and didn't smell bad

$608. I'm good.

And someone driving in from memphis saturday to look at her. If that deal holds, i'll be on the hunt for an old tin boat to waste my money on.