I have a friend with a 1994 C115 that runs great, good compression, minimal corrosion.
He is trying to sell his boat, and when he went to offer a test ride the boat wouldn't shift into forward or reverse. This was the first time he had ever had this issue (murphys law!).
He brought it home and I went to look at it. The throttle cable actuates all of the shift linkages. The cables appear to be adjusted correctly.
However, sometimes the bushing that slides on a guide channel at the end of the cable, that connects to the arm under the carbs, it doesn't go all the way forward or all the way back, therefore not engaging the lower unit. It doesn't do this every time, I'd say 50/50.
With the engine not running, if you rotate the prop just a tiny bit, the linkage 'jumps' into gear, the bushing/ collar slides all the way back or forward, and all is well. It seems as if it may be binding.
One thing he did notice is that there is about 3-4' of extra shift cable. Can the excessive length of cable cause an issue? The extra cable doesn't move or jump when shifting.
The other thing I read is an issue with shift shaft corrosion. I can not see any excessive corrosion, any pics of examples or where to look? The description of this common problem sounds like the shift shaft will twist and not turn the gear selector on the lower unit. This seems like it could be what is happening, but I don't see corrosion or the hourglass description I've heard about on the shift shaft.
He's trying to make this right prior to selling.
We didn't change anything, other than moving slack cable around a little, and now it will shift when running, but won't always shift when not running.
Any help?
Thanks
Shawn
He is trying to sell his boat, and when he went to offer a test ride the boat wouldn't shift into forward or reverse. This was the first time he had ever had this issue (murphys law!).
He brought it home and I went to look at it. The throttle cable actuates all of the shift linkages. The cables appear to be adjusted correctly.
However, sometimes the bushing that slides on a guide channel at the end of the cable, that connects to the arm under the carbs, it doesn't go all the way forward or all the way back, therefore not engaging the lower unit. It doesn't do this every time, I'd say 50/50.
With the engine not running, if you rotate the prop just a tiny bit, the linkage 'jumps' into gear, the bushing/ collar slides all the way back or forward, and all is well. It seems as if it may be binding.
One thing he did notice is that there is about 3-4' of extra shift cable. Can the excessive length of cable cause an issue? The extra cable doesn't move or jump when shifting.
The other thing I read is an issue with shift shaft corrosion. I can not see any excessive corrosion, any pics of examples or where to look? The description of this common problem sounds like the shift shaft will twist and not turn the gear selector on the lower unit. This seems like it could be what is happening, but I don't see corrosion or the hourglass description I've heard about on the shift shaft.
He's trying to make this right prior to selling.
We didn't change anything, other than moving slack cable around a little, and now it will shift when running, but won't always shift when not running.
Any help?
Thanks
Shawn