Mercruiser Outdrive 260 1980 Seized shift cable stuck in neutral

Tomservo

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Apr 22, 2011
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:facepalm:Hi everyone!
I have a Mercruiser 260 engine & Z drive on my boat (1980 Carlson Scimitar) and it's stuck in neutral.

It was working fine, but because of circumstances (life) it's been layed up for 10 years.

The short shift cable from the swivel plate to the outdrive seems to have seized up and I can't get Forward or Reverse.

now everything I've been reading or have been told is that I need to remove the drive to get to it.

I've also been told (and read) that in order to get the drive off, it needs to be in Forward.... I seem to have a problem!

Any Ideas??
 

Bondo

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Re: Mercruiser Outdrive 260 1980 Seized shift cable stuck in neutral

:facepalm:Hi everyone!
I have a Mercruiser 260 engine & Z drive on my boat (1980 Carlson Scimitar) and it's stuck in neutral.

It was working fine, but because of circumstances (life) it's been layed up for 10 years.

The short shift cable from the swivel plate to the outdrive seems to have seized up and I can't get Forward or Reverse.

now everything I've been reading or have been told is that I need to remove the drive to get to it.

I've also been told (and read) that in order to get the drive off, it needs to be in Forward.... I seem to have a problem!

Any Ideas??

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Trim the drive Up, reach up in under, 'n Cut the cable, it's in the small bellows,...
Then rotate the shift shoe/ foot to straight fore, 'n aft,...
lower the drive, 'n remove,....

I'd plan on replacin' ALL the rubber parts while ya got it apart,...
they're no doubt rotten,...
 

Tomservo

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Apr 22, 2011
Messages
6
Re: Mercruiser Outdrive 260 1980 Seized shift cable stuck in neutral

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Trim the drive Up, reach up in under, 'n Cut the cable, it's in the small bellows,...
Then rotate the shift shoe/ foot to straight fore, 'n aft,...
lower the drive, 'n remove,....

I'd plan on replacin' ALL the rubber parts while ya got it apart,...
they're no doubt rotten,...

Thankyou Ayuh!! You're the genius I was hoping for!:):)
 

Bondo

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Re: Mercruiser Outdrive 260 1980 Seized shift cable stuck in neutral

Thankyou Ayuh!! You're the genius I was hoping for!:):)

Ayuh,.... yer quite Welcome,...

For hours of learnin' enjoyment,... Have a look 'round Don'S Adults Only section at the top of this forum,...
It's packed fulla Great I/O info, includin' links to the factory manuals,....
 

Tomservo

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Apr 22, 2011
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Re: Mercruiser Outdrive 260 1980 Seized shift cable stuck in neutral

Ayuh,.... yer quite Welcome,...

For hours of learnin' enjoyment,... Have a look 'round Don'S Adults Only section at the top of this forum,...
It's packed fulla Great I/O info, includin' links to the factory manuals,....

I don't seem to be able to get access to the files in "Adults Only"...it returns an error.
BUT.. if I may ask you another question (or 2) I see threads refering to 'Alpha 1' etc, how would I find out if my engine / outdrive is an Alpha something?
and, (and this is probably dependant on the answer to my 1st question) how do I find the part number for the shift cable and rubbers?

regards
Tomservo
 

ktbarrentine

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Tomservo

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Apr 22, 2011
Messages
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Re: Mercruiser Outdrive 260 1980 Seized shift cable stuck in neutral

Links:

http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...cellaneous-mercruiser-information-329915.html

http://bluewatermarinesvc.com/pdf/drive_model_year_index.pdf

Another way to get around the "cant get it into FWD to remove drive" is to remove the lower part of the drive first. It doesn't matter what gear you are in for that. Then you can remove the upper after the intermediate shift shaft drops out of the upper shift shaft saddle.

Thanks ktbarrentine! I'll try that first.
It looks, by the 2nd link you gave me, that my drive is a 260 (which would tie up with the lable on the top of it that says..260!!)

I seem to be having trouble accessing the file on the 1st link.
 

Tomservo

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Apr 22, 2011
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Re: Mercruiser Outdrive 260 1980 Seized shift cable stuck in neutral

Thanks Bondo, that worked a treat!
 
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