What is forward gear

[jachin99]

Hello, I'm really new to boating, and boat repair. I have a Mecruiser Alpha One Gen 2 I/O in a Stingray hull that needs a new Trim Sender/Limiter. I have seen others leave the outboard in place and use a swivel socket to replace these but I'm wondering if it would be easier to just pull the outboard. In most internet tutorials I have read they advise me to ensure the boat is in "Forward Gear". My understanding of what forward gear is basically means I move the throttle lever all the way forward as if I wanted to accelerate the boat. Is this true or am I missing something?

Also, any advice on doing this repair would be greatly appreciated.

 

[alldodge]

My understanding of what forward gear is basically means I move the throttle lever all the way forward as if I wanted to accelerate the boat. Is this true or am I missing something?

You got it, not missing anything. Putting it in forward moves the shift foot on the drive facing forward. In this position the out drive (not an outboard) can be removed.

If its not placed in forward, the shift foot will be bent

You need a manual, and will need to remove the bell housing to make it easier. If your boots have not been replaced, now would be a good time to do those also. Maybe the lower shift cable and don't foget to check alignment before reinstalling the drive

 

[jachin99]

So I make sure its in forward gear to make sure the lower shift cable (basically the portion of the throttle cable that runs through the outdrive?) doesn't bind as I pull the the outdrive off? Something else I have noticed about this boat is that I need to turn the throttle handle about fourty five degrees forward before It starts to rev. Is that indicative of a faulty shift cable? Could that be a problem when I try to pull the outdrive?

Also when I check the alignment during reinstallation, how do I do that? Am i checking the alignment of that cable or something else? Thanks again for helping.

 

[alldodge]

The throttle handle is moved FWD or REV from neutral to shift the drive into gear. Once in gear then when the throttle is moved further the throttle cable starts the motor accelerating.

Don't move the throttle from neutral straight to full throttle, needs to be in gear first

Checking alignment is done with an alignment bar. The steel bar is inserted thru the gimbal bearing and then into the engine coupler. The coupler is attached to the flywheel . Its checking that the drive shaft on the outdrive is in alignment between the two

Again you need a manual, accutualy 2 manuals outdive and motor

 

[achris]