stuck in reverse

[vicsponjr]

I just bought a 85 Citation Capri, 190hp 3.7 merc with a alpha drive(?) which had been sitting for a few years, took it out for the first time today and got stuck in reverse within a hour or so. I can put it in reverse but not back into neutral or forward. When I shut it down and restart it it was back in neutral but still no forward. Once I put it in reverse it stayed there till I shut it down again. The upper shift cable seems to work fine.<br /><br />I read the posts on this problem and it sounds like a broken lower shift cable or a clutch dog, but this is my first boat and about all I know about I/O is what I am reading here tonight! I'm hoping its the cable and not the clutch dog <br />A) Is this the correct diagnosis, or could it be something else?<br />B)How can I check to see if it is the shift cable?<br />C)How much can I expect to pay to have it repaired?<br />Thanks in advance

 

[qystan]

Re: stuck in reverse

If you have a broken cable, you'll be stuck in 1 position and won't be able to shift anything with or without the engine running.<br /><br />Try this out of water. Assumes drive is a standard rotation drive.<br /><br />Move to full forward while rotating the prop counterclockwise, does it lock? Move it to neutral, prop should free. Go into reverse while turning prop clockwise, does it lock? Move to neutral, prop should free. If you can do all this, cable is not broken. Check the adjustment:<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=000029 <br /><br />If adjusing does not work, then cable needs to be changed.

 

[vicsponjr]

Re: stuck in reverse

i disconnected the cable at the engine and i was able to pull on the cable from the drive and get it into reverse, the prop locked. i then tried to push the cable in and it started bending. cable looked tired and old. it got as far as starting to "click" like it was going to go into gear but i guess i couldn't get the cable in far enough.

 

[vicsponjr]

Re: stuck in reverse

just wanted to add: when i try pushing in the cable at the drive the cable just doesn't seem stiff enough to push the mechanism (doo-dad) into forward. Is the a sign of a bad, not necessarily broken cable?

 

[qystan]

Re: stuck in reverse

I does look like the cable is bad. The movement should be smooth and light.<br /><br />You'll have to drop the drive. You need to remove that to change the cable.<br /><br />After its off, check the cable again and check the freedom of the shiftshaft on the lower unit just to be sure its not the gear shifter that's sticking.<br /><br />For the change procedure look at www.mercstuff.com. <br /><br />You'll need a 9/16 x 4 inch deep socket. I welded a pipe to a regular 3/8 drive socket to make one. Use a single hex socket, bi-hex sockets tend to round the corners off the brass fitting and you'll end up with more troubles like what happened to me.