Alpha One Hard shifting (out of gear)

[Daritzz]

Hello, i have a 93 Mercruiser 3.0L with Alpha One outdrive which has tough shifting out of foward gear into neutral when in water, reverse is fine. When running on muffs shifting out of gear from either forward/reverse is fine. I also hear a "clunk" noise when shifting into gear both on driveway and in water, but i was told by a mechanic that this was normal for these outdrives.

I do not have to force the control lever very hard when i shift out of gear, but i do have to apply some pressure that does not seem normal. This is my first boat and I'm new to boating in general and just wanted to get an opinion on what may be causing the problem...

Thank you,
Greg

 

[87rocket455]

Re: Alpha One Hard shifting (out of gear)

you will have to apply some pressure when shifting, but the "clunk" might have me a little worried when it is in the water. With will hear the clunk out of water bc of the gears meshing. What RPM is the engine idling at? Should be around 700-800rpms in the water. If not it will ruin your outdrive.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Alpha One Hard shifting (out of gear)

Due to the clutch design - ALL alphas clunk when going into gear.

Also your hand opperates the shifter mechanism, that opperates a cable, that opperates another mechanism, that opperates another cable, that opperates a mechanism that engages/disengages gears. Applying "some force" is also normal. If you are uncomfortable with the amount of force, ask somebody with the same shifter to let you try thiers for comparison.

 

[Daritzz]

Re: Alpha One Hard shifting (out of gear)

Thank you for your responses, I was getting nervous every time I put the boat in gear. Just a quick question, why would the clunk noise be present when the boat is on muffs and not when in the water?

Thanks,
Greg

 

[87rocket455]

Re: Alpha One Hard shifting (out of gear)

Thank you for your responses, I was getting nervous every time I put the boat in gear. Just a quick question, why would the clunk noise be present when the boat is on muffs and not when in the water?

Thanks,
Greg

Because the water supresses noise and also is a buffer for the prop to provide some resistance when putting it in gear.

 

[thomasjpierce21]

Re: Alpha One Hard shifting (out of gear)

Due to the clutch design - ALL alphas clunk when going into gear.

Also your hand opperates the shifter mechanism, that opperates a cable, that opperates another mechanism, that opperates another cable, that opperates a mechanism that engages/disengages gears. Applying "some force" is also normal. If you are uncomfortable with the amount of force, ask somebody with the same shifter to let you try thiers for comparison.

I have the same problem with my '89 OMC Cobra. When I come out of gear into neutral it requires too much force. Shouldn't it just click into neutral and out of gear. I have perfomed the 5 step process for cable adjustment and it shifts into gear perfectly in both directions. It's just when it's in the water coming out of gear. ESA module seems to work but maybe it's not stalling the motor enough to come out. Idles at 500RPM in the water and I did install a new remote control. Please help!

 

[180shabah]

Re: Alpha One Hard shifting (out of gear)

You have a different drive with a different clutch and shift interrupt system, you need to start a new thread, not just hijack somebody elses.

 

[thomasjpierce21]

Re: Alpha One Hard shifting (out of gear)

Wow calm down buddy. I thought the problem sounded awfully similar to mine so I though I 'd give it a shot and see what people had to say. If the basic mechanics are the same I might get some insight on why my shift is stubborn. No worries I'll post elsewhere.

Hijack