Shifting issue...please help!!!

[Allmand]

Ok, I just put in a new vetus single lever dual action shifter. I used the existing cables because they seemed to be in excellent shape. I could move the throttle and shift cables by hand.

Anyway....in the water I fire the boat up, put it in drive and go. 90% of the time I cannot get it to go in neutral without having to turn the key off. It feels stuck. It seems I can go from forward to reverse if I do it quickly but from reverse to forward or neutral seems to be almost impossible without turning off the key. With the key off I can move it in and out of forward, reverse, and neutral easily. I have a 1966 or 68 GM 250 inline 6 with a pre-alpha mercruiser 160 outdrive.

Any ideas?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Shifting issue...please help!!!

shift interuper not working

 

[Pete104]

Re: Shifting issue...please help!!!

Is this why you replaced the "shifter"?
You didn't say "how easily" the cables moved by hand.
Also, you probably still don't know how easily the intermediate shift cable moves.

 

[Allmand]

Re: Shifting issue...please help!!!

I replaced the shifter because it fell apart...but part of the reason that it fell apart was because I would push and pull on it so hard. It got jammed, I put some force
on it and the internals snapped. With the new shifter it now goes into drive smoothly and reverse smoothly. But most of the time I will have to turn the boat off to get out of a gear to go into another. And yes the cables moved very easily by hand when we had the old shifter off

 

[Allmand]

Re: Shifting issue...please help!!!

Is this why you replaced the "shifter"?
You didn't say "how easily" the cables moved by hand.
Also, you probably still don't know how easily the intermediate shift cable moves.

Sorry, I am relatively new to boating. Where is the intermediate shift cable

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: Shifting issue...please help!!!

Not sure if you have read this or not, from the "Adults Only" stick at the beginning of this forum:
How The Shift Interruptor Works:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?p=1930449#post1930449

The interruptor sounds like it is not connected, possibly due to a bad lower shift cable to the outdrive. When they get worn, they cause the interruptor to stall the engine when it's shifted into neutral from gear.

 

[Allmand]

Re: Shifting issue...please help!!!

Well, that is very helpful. That could be what my problem is. However, the engine doesnt seem to stall. The shifter just feels jammed unless I turn the key off. But reading that sticky, its mentioned that out of the water on muffs it will usually shift fine because there is no load on the prop. And that is the case with mine. On muffs everything shifts fine.

So it sounds like I need to replace the lower shift cable and interruptor?

 

[Allmand]

Re: Shifting issue...please help!!!

Upon reading additional posts and the sticky....since my engine does not stall out at all..only the shifter wont go into neutral. Could it be that the interuptor is the only thing bad? I have looked at the cables, and they all look good and see to have been replaced relatively recently.

 

[Pete104]

Re: Shifting issue...please help!!!

Yes, it is very possible!

 

[Allmand]

Re: Shifting issue...please help!!!

As always, thanks everyone for your advice. I think I know what direction to move in.