I have a 1996 Regal 176 Valanti with the 3.0L Mercruiser, alpha 1, and Morse control.
My wife and I boat the boat from her grandparents of which they've used the boat very few times within the past few years and told me the shifting was rather difficult and aggravating.
What's happening: Shifting into forward or reverse can be at times quite difficult. Reverse is almost always a complete YANK to shift. Usually takes about three to four tries to get in neutral.
What I have done so far:
1. Took apart Morse control and lubed inside moving parts.
2. Took shift cable aloose from motor side remote control (no problem with control)
3. Noticed that the shift bar on top of the motor (I believe it's called the shift plate?) was incredible stiff to move so I loosened that bolt just a tad and put everything back together and it felt much more smooth.
I thought the problem was fixed, went to the river the other day, and first Part of the day the boat shifted (still a little stiff but i wouldn't consider it aggravating, as the day went on the shifting got harder, and upon getting to letting on the trailer, it was impossible to find neutral. Shift went straight from forward to reverse and hard shifts each time.
My next step is to pull the cable going to the stern aloose from the motor and manually shift it there to see how tight it is.
I've searched but couldn't find anything that matches the inconsistency of shift problems I'm having.
Thanks for any help.
My wife and I boat the boat from her grandparents of which they've used the boat very few times within the past few years and told me the shifting was rather difficult and aggravating.
What's happening: Shifting into forward or reverse can be at times quite difficult. Reverse is almost always a complete YANK to shift. Usually takes about three to four tries to get in neutral.
What I have done so far:
1. Took apart Morse control and lubed inside moving parts.
2. Took shift cable aloose from motor side remote control (no problem with control)
3. Noticed that the shift bar on top of the motor (I believe it's called the shift plate?) was incredible stiff to move so I loosened that bolt just a tad and put everything back together and it felt much more smooth.
I thought the problem was fixed, went to the river the other day, and first Part of the day the boat shifted (still a little stiff but i wouldn't consider it aggravating, as the day went on the shifting got harder, and upon getting to letting on the trailer, it was impossible to find neutral. Shift went straight from forward to reverse and hard shifts each time.
My next step is to pull the cable going to the stern aloose from the motor and manually shift it there to see how tight it is.
I've searched but couldn't find anything that matches the inconsistency of shift problems I'm having.
Thanks for any help.
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