Mercruiser 3.0 (140hp) Apha 1 Drive control & throttle cable adjustment.

nic420

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My prop will not engage when shifted to Reverse. There is no movement on the lower shift cable when I put the control in the Reverse position. However, I was able to shift by just pulling on the lower shift cables manually. The lower shift cable has been replaced a couple days ago by a local marine mechanic when he did the U joint, seal, bellows and impeller. It also makes a humming noise in the outdrive when shifted in gear. Gimbal has been replaced too. I am trying to see if I can adjust or replace the control & throttle cable or do I have to replace the whole control box? Where can I buy the cable for the control & throttle? I do not want to have to replace the whole control box. Thank you in advance for your advice.
 

Bondo

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Ayuh,... Click on the links at the top of the page to find the replacement cables that iboats sells,....

They list 'em for most of the common controllers, 'n drives,...
 

Bondo

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There is no movement on the lower shift cable when I put the control in the Reverse position.

Ayuh,.... What was the forward cable doin', when ya move the control,..??
 

nic420

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I apologize it does move. I can't seem to adjust to where I get both Forward and Reverse. I can only adjust to where it does one or the other but not both. I brought it to a local mechanic and he said the control box and the control & throttle cable needs replacing. I don't trust him because he has already taken $700 of my deposit and tried to charge me a total of $2600. Please advise if replacing the items above will solve the prob lem.
 

nic420

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Removed the throttle control cable and found out it has a little slack when pulling on it. Could this be the reason?
 

nic420

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So I had just replaced the control and throttle cables and the humming problems still persist when shifting into gear. I was wondering if the engine coupler might be damaged? It might of happened when I shifted while the motor was still reving at a high RPM. Throttle got stuck and never went back idle position. How can I tell if the engine coupler is damaged without removing the outdrive?
 

Bondo

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How can I tell if the engine coupler is damaged without removing the outdrive?

Ayuh,.... You can't,..... If the coupler is gone, you get no coolin' water from the impeller, 'n neither forward, nor reverse will work,...

You also said you could manually shift it at the shift switch,...
 

nic420

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Woohoooo! The shifting problem is fixed! Thank you! Replacing the control and throttle cables fixed it. All that time I thought it was the lower shift cable that was causing the problem.

I guess the coupler is still good per what you said, "If the coupler is gone, you get no coolin' water from the impeller, 'n neither forward, nor reverse will work,...You also said you could manually shift it at the shift switch,...".

But the humming & grinding noise is still there. The noise sounds like it's coming from in between the back of the motor and the transom. Only happens when shifted in gear, Forward and Reverse. At idle, no sounds. The problem started when I shifted while the motor was still reving at a high RPM. The throttle got stuck and never went back to the idle position. The local marine mechanic tried to fix it by replacing the Gimbal bearing, U joint, seals, bellows and impeller. Please advise how to troubleshoot. I will try to upload a video after work.
 

nic420

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LOL. He did charge me for it. Prior to bringing the boat to the mechanic, I had changed the oil for the lower. Some of the threads said to check the lower gear oil for metal shavings as part of the troubleshooting. That was why I changed the lower gear oil.
 

nic420

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I took the boat out this morning to test the shifting under load and to find out what was causing the humming noise when it is in gear. Shifting works smoothly. It engage into gear w/ no humming noise but when I give it a little throttle it does not propel the boat faster. It just makes a loud humming noise as I throttle more but no power. Same thing happens in reverse also. Please help.
 

Bondo

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Ayuh,.... Drain the oil from the drive, 'n look for ground up metal in it,....

At this point I'm guessin',.... The upper gear set is toast,...
Or,... The vertical shaft broke off at the o-ring groove,...
Or,.... The coupler is in fact toast,...
 

nic420

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Thank you for getting back to me Mr. Bondo. I have changed the oil for the drive already and there were no ground up metal. The marine mechanic also changed it again a couple days later when I brought the boat to him to fix. He thinks the problem is behind the motor.

The humming noise only happens under load or when the boat is in the water. And it only happens when in gear while throttling. Please provide next step for troubleshooting.
 

nic420

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Shouldn't have the marine mechanic be able to see what was wrong when he had the drive off when he replaced the Gimbal, U-Joints, seals, bellows, lower cable, and impeller?
 

nic420

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I do have coolin' water from the impeller, 'n forward and reverse gears works,...Do you thing it might me be the upper gear set is toast,...
Or,... The vertical shaft broke off at the o-ring groove,...? How do I find out?
 

Bondo

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Shouldn't have the marine mechanic be able to see what was wrong when he had the drive off when he replaced the Gimbal, U-Joints, seals, bellows, lower cable, and impeller?

Ayuh,.... I would think so,... I could, but I ain't yer mechanic,....

If it made the noise before the impeller was changed,...
A broken vertical shaft would have been beyond Obvious,....

If it made the noise before the oil was changed, metal in the oil would be obvious,...

'bout the only thing left is the coupler, 'n the mechanic should have checked the splines when the drive was off for the gimbel bearin',...

Possibly, the coupler is Ok at idle in gear, 'n slips/ grinds as ya power up,....

If ya pull the drive, there oughta be evidence of this on the input shaft splines,...
 

nic420

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Do I have to also pull the drive to pull the motor to replace the coupler? I have owned the boat for 3 years and have not replaced the coupler yet.
 

Bondo

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Do I have to also pull the drive to pull the motor to replace the coupler?

Ayuh,.... That's Correct,.... The drive has to come off, before the motor comes out,....

The drive goes back on, After the gimbel is aligned with the motor,...
 

nic420

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Do you think I should try aligning the motor to see if it might solve the problem before I remove the motor to see if the coupler needs replacing? I did recently replaced the stringers and floors and that might made it misaligned.
 
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