Mercury control won't go back into neutral

[icelander295]

have a mercury 650 tied to a white quicksilver control box.
unit would not go into reverse (ratcheted prop when pulled into reverse) I was told were worn shift cam and follower by a boat shop when seals etc replaced. I replaced the follower and shift cam but the unit would still not fully engage into reverse.

The shift cable is adjusted all the way to the end of the adjustment but the unit will not go into reverse. I dis-connected the forward reverse cable and the motor will manually go into reverse perfectly but the control box won't adjust back far enough (1/8 inch more required)
I shifted the control box from neutral to reverse last night while disconnected and now the control box will not go back into neutral from reverse (stuck) I can move it back down to full throttle in reverse but when moving it back to neutral it stops like it is hitting a stop.

Can I assume the control box has something jamming it as I have the throttle cable and shift cable off.
the not going into reverse fully issue, does this mean my cable is NG

Will one of the black mercury controls work on my engine as I found one from a 16 foot boat that is black, but my boat is only 14.5 feet? Issues?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Mercury control won't go back into neutral

Thje control box itself is probably worn. There is a shift cam inside the control box and very popular for wearing out. Usually ebay is the easiet place to fine the replacement part for the control box

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Mercury control won't go back into neutral

Thje control box itself is probably worn. There is a shift cam inside the control box and very popular for wearing out. Usually ebay is the easiet place to fine the replacement part for the control box

+1...............

 

[mercurymang]

Re: Mercury control won't go back into neutral

Before you ditch your control box, take a close look at your cables. I just had an issue on my shift cable where the brass dowel had actually stripped on the threads and making it do something similar. I ordered a new set of cables but in the meantime i mixed some epoxy and slathered it on the cable threads after getting it set back up correctly and it worked like a charm.

 

[icelander295]

Re: Mercury control won't go back into neutral

Before you ditch your control box, take a close look at your cables. I just had an issue on my shift cable where the brass dowel had actually stripped on the threads and making it do something similar. I ordered a new set of cables but in the meantime i mixed some epoxy and slathered it on the cable threads after getting it set back up correctly and it worked like a charm.

Thanks, though my brass dowel is OK and adjusted to the end of its adjustment which strikes me as odd.
with your new cables how much adjustment do you have left on the threaded shift cable ahead off the adjustment dowel?
Does not make sense to me as I am told that the cable has no adjustment at the control, only at the motor shift plate.

My motor goes into all gears really well by hand with the cable disconnected but not fully into reverse when connected. Boat shop said my shift cam and follower were worn so I replaced then but still won't fully shift into reverse even with the shift cable at full extension. If I shift it from the control to reverse before the throttle cable moves at all I still have a bit more extension along the slide plate but the cable has run out of extension. If I push the actual shift plate with a screwdriver at the slide where the shift cable attaches it will go into reverse but when I remove the pressure it moves back and the prop no longer grabs in both directions (ratchets in one direction)

when I had the bottom end apart I noticed there is a shim ring that is at the front of the prop shaft where the o-ring and reverse gear are that would keep the shaft and reverse gear forward a very small amount .30 thousand of an inch say in the bottom housing. This is likely a shim meant to maintain gear lash to the drive shaft gear.

Anyone know how much play the prop shaft should have after the nut is tightened when you put the bottom end back together?

I would try removing the shim to make the prop shaft/ reverse gear sit into the housing the .30 thousand or so which would like allow the extra amount to enable the shift cable to fully engage, but I do not want to screw with the gear lash and cause to much pressure on the drive gear.

I guess I could also put a small .20 thousand shim in behind the shift follower in the bottom end to provide a small extra bit of travel for the reverse engage but this may affect the forward engagement although likely very little.

|Any thoughts appreciated

 

[mercurymang]

Re: Mercury control won't go back into neutral

Sounds like you need to pull the cables and verify the movement. If they are moving fully back and forth then something else is going on, other wise, it's as Bob and Mark said, your control box in worn out.

 

[icelander295]

Re: Mercury control won't go back into neutral

Sounds like you need to pull the cables and verify the movement. If they are moving fully back and forth then something else is going on, other wise, it's as Bob and Mark said, your control box in worn out.

Wondering, I have access to a control box and cables (black box control) from a 16 foot boat with a Merc 650 like my motor that works 100% for shifting. Does anyone foresee an issue with using this configuration on my 14 foot boat other then the obvious extra cable length which I will have to hide under my rear deck?

Thanks to all for responding thus far.

 

[mercurymang]

Re: Mercury control won't go back into neutral

As long as the cables are long enough, I would think it would work.

 

[Anchor Marine Repair LLC]

Re: Mercury control won't go back into neutral

So we moved on from the OP about it 'not going into neutral' right? Now it won't engage reverse?

If your shift cam and follower were worn, then your clutch and reverse gear clutch teeth had to be damaged (rounded). Most problems I see with these old Merc lower units is this: The cable was never adjusted over the years of use. Then the reverse gear clutch teeth got rounded since someone kept ratcheting it or short shifting it. The cam follower and cam will outlast your clutch teeth.

So I'd put in the $30 shift cable, since the travel on a control box doesn't "wear out". The cams where they mesh might flatten and cause hard shifting or more likely- a complete jam. But that same cam in the control box still travels the same distance when you move the handle.

If a new cable doesn't help, then lets see a picture of your reverse gear and the reverse side of the clutch. I know a place you can send them to have the teeth re-cut.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Mercury control won't go back into neutral

Boat shop said my shift cam and follower were worn so I replaced then

Did the new follower have the 3 balls?

This is likely a shim meant to maintain gear lash to the drive shaft gear.

Yes and do not remove it....