wont shift: coupler?

[DGIFF396]

my 70 pre alpha outdrive worked fine...stopped on the river to switch drivers so I could ski and then all the sudden it wouldnt go into gear for him. Foward nor reverse....only revs up...havent checked if prop will spin both way while in gear but one thing I did notice while trying to adjust the linkage is the coolant resovoir started to bubble....i could feel the shaft turning where the top and lower units meet (the shift linkage) while in the water with it and having assistant push shifter foward and backward.....I was digging through the forums and came across a old topic whwere don stated it couldnt be this guys coupler becuase the engine would overheat becuase impeller wouldnt be turning. Where is this coupler,and how can you test it...thanx again gentelmen

 

[Blk-n-Blu]

Re: wont shift: coupler?

Spun Prop Hub Maybe??

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: wont shift: coupler?

It will need to come out of the water, the drive will need to be pulled & checked to see if it will go into fwd & reverse......
Look at the condition of the input shaft for signs of being chewed up.....
A burning rubber smell & or metal shavings in the coupler area would be likely......
Coolant resevoir?.....
A closed system will take a little longer to overheat than a raw water system, but the risers would get hot quickly......
With the drive off you can shine a flashlight through the gimbal bearing & at least see some of the coupling......​

 

[Don S]

Re: wont shift: coupler?

If the shaft is turning, it's not the coupler, the coupler is mounted on the flywheel and that shaft goes into it.
Since the coolant was bubbling, sounds like the start of an overheat which probably means the raw water pump isn't turning.
I would guess the upper gears went out or the vertical shaft broke.

 

[DGIFF396]

Re: wont shift: coupler?

got it out of water today and the bottom of skag is bent over....brother in law told me he hit a log pretty good the day before this happenned to me but it worked for me.....i did put it in drive and the prop would only turn one way by hand, put it in reverse and prop turned both ways, but with a gurgling sound and a small amount of resistance....nuetral---resistance...i didnt have time to pull the cap off out drive or check oil....will tomorrow and again I appreciate the help guys....continuing to believe haut medoc's self inflicted gunshot wounds are less painful then these old boats and dons wise saying that even a free boat cost too much but again thank you