Outdrive noise

badkins50

badkins50

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Messages
676
I have a question for you guys. I have a 1984 Mercruiser Alpha 3.7L outdrive and when I put it in forward or reverse there is a not to bad grinding for a second until it is fully engaged then there is no noise at all. Is this normal if engaging the outdrive slowly? I noticed it when I first bought the boat and recently I tore the outdrive apart to rebuild the water pump and nothing looked out of the ordinary. Premium oil used and completely full. Like I said it's not bad of a grinding, it's just annoying. It picks up and runs great even at wot.
 
badkins50

badkins50

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Messages
676
Re: Outdrive noise

Yeah. The dock I use is in a no wake zone and when I'm putting it in reverse to back out of the dock and when I'm leaving the dock I have to engage slowly because I don't want to cause a big stir with the fellow boaters.
 
havasuboatman

havasuboatman

Ensign
Joined
Mar 5, 2009
Messages
904
Re: Outdrive noise

You don't shift a boat into gear slowly. Tears up the clutch dogs. Just a quick smooth motion into gear.
 
badkins50

badkins50

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Messages
676
Re: Outdrive noise

Ok. Thanks. I was just trying not to **** anyone off at the docks. I need to get a better feel for what I have. Now I know. This is my first boat and I'm still learning things. I did notice that if I shifted faster it was nice and smooth.
 
havasuboatman

havasuboatman

Ensign
Joined
Mar 5, 2009
Messages
904
Re: Outdrive noise

You should be able to shift it the way I suggested without gassing the motor at all. If you can't your cables need adjustment and/or replacement.
 
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