Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

[chbg17201]

I fired my '87 OMC 3.0 L up a few weeks ago and it runs good. Today I tried to put it in gear while using muffs, and it won't go into neither forward nor reverse. The shift/throttle lever will not budge forward or backwards, except when pulled out in neutral. I disconnected the cable from the motor and then the lever easily moves back and forth. Does it possibly have some safety mechanism where it can't be put into gear when out of water? Or possibly something bad? I attached two pictures, the first one is with it sitting in neutral, and the 2nd one I'm attempting to push it into forward gear. Should it rest in the first "V" like shown in the 2nd pic, and should it be sliding into the 2nd V to go into gear?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

Well,......... I know next to Nothing about OMCs,........

But,...... From your description,.....
I Think you'll find that your Lower Shift Cable is Seized........

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

From your description,.....
I Think you'll find that your Lower Shift Cable is Seized........

I agree with Bondo. When was the last time you shifted it? Use it in salt water ever?

When was the last time you pulled the drive? the pocket where the bellcrank is in can get crusted up pretty well with salt and can also cause hard shifting.

regarding the photos...When there is no tension on the cable...basically while not shifting...it should stay in the center.

 

[Coors]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

The rollers on those switches, should be in the middle of the detents- someone bent and trashed them. But it is probably due to the lower cable, like they said. And while you get the cable, gimbal, and u joints replaced; buy the new style esa that works with out those switches, those are destroyed.

 

[Coors]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

You will still need one switch; get a pic, bent it back into shape, install it in the mid leg ,in order to send the signal to the modern esa unit- that unit just burbles the ignition for seconds; you can't even tell it happened

 

[marunr]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

Usually someone will post this link, so here it is. It's a must read for an OMC Cobra owner, especially one who's esa switches look like the ones in your pictures. Read it carefully.
http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/kw-shift.html

 

[Coors]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

Cool, I thought that link was lost; It has one more bit of info than the original OMC book does. But he still has NO roller switches that will ever work again on the detent; Maybe some bending will get one to work, but you have to know the theory of how it works. Maybe we can walk him through it.

 

[Don S]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

From the looks of the bend in the shift interrupt switch arm and the discription of your problem, my guess is that the engine kept dying when it was shifted (due to a bad shift cable) then the mechanic discovered the shift interrupt switch kept killing the engine or make it miss like crazy. NOTE: It should just cause a miss in the engine, but without a tunup or other maintenance, it will probably die.
Anyway, since the switch caused the engine to die, or just plain run rough and miss, why not just bend the switch arm out of the way. Now it doesn't die or run rough, and it still is hard to shift. BUT at least it still works.
Fix it right or fight it forever. Get your wallet out.

 

[Coors]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

Welcome back Don. It seems that a bunch of the techs left with you; leaving just us shade trees to help. (my 88 omc was bought with switches like that- they are still available)

 

[chbg17201]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

Thank you guys for all your input. I definitely gained some new insight into the problem. With the exception of a soft thud, boat shifted fine 2 years ago the last time it was in water. I think the repair might be alittle over my head though. Anyone have even an idea how much this might set me back at the repair shop? With the switches, cable, and labor if that is the only problem.

 

[Dakota47]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

new cables & shift control module will set you back $800 installed.

 

[marunr]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

If you heard a "soft thud" a couple of years ago, you could have damaged the clutch dog, the gears, or you could get lucky and just need a new cable. It's going to be very expensive if gears are involved and the price would be anyones guess. A rebuilt lower unit will run about $1300 and a complete drive about $3500, so you should have the drive checked out if you take it in to have a new cable installed. If the gears are damaged you may want to reconsider whether the boat is worth the price of repair.

Don't feel alone in... there are a lot of us who have had to make the same decisions.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

Welcome to the wonderful world of OMC. I can't wait to sell mine.

 

[wakeboarddude]

Re: Put OMC 3.0 in gear when out of water?

I also hear a "soft thud" on occasion. I have a 400series OMC, with the 3.0L. Could this be just a shift linkage adjustment. I have had the lower unit rebuilt so hopefully it isn't a gear problem.