Take me to school...1987 3.0 dies when i put it in gear.

First of all a big thanks to the contributors of this forum. Your knowledge is priceless. Now to my question: My 3.0 wants to just flat out die when i put it in gear. It was at the "boat mechanic" last year before i bought it and they couldn't/didn't fix it. I have since reworked a few items on the boat that the previous owner had them "fix". Shoddy, shoddy work. So please take me to school on this. It seems that the linkage is adjusted correctly and once I finally baby it/luck it into gear the boat runs great. It also idles great and hums like a sewing machine. I have seen some things posted about ESA but I cant find anything that dumbs it down enough for me to know if this could be the cause. I personally hate throwing parts at anything to try to fix it. I like to have some confidence when i replace something. My father who is a world class shade tree mechanic (the gene skipped me) seems to think that maybe the accelerator pump is bad in the carb and its not getting the "extra shot" of fuel at shift. If it is the ESA anybody have a link that shows where it is on motor and troubleshooting tips that can be done with the average mans toolbox?

Re: Take me to school...1987 3.0 dies when i put it in gear.

You may need a new lower shift cable. They get corroded and stiff to move and cause the shift interrupt system to stay engaged.
Your engine may not be running very well which is why it dies completely, and not just miss.

Read this thread and you will understand the shift interrupt system and how it works. It's for a Mercruiser, but the principal is the same.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?p=1930449#post1930449

Re: Take me to school...1987 3.0 dies when i put it in gear.

Great that's a start for me. Now to troubleshoot this do i just watch the EAS switch and see if it returns to normal quickly? And for what it's worth the motor sounds like it is running great. Also does it make sense to take the switch off the motor and have someone activate it just long enough to get it in gear then release it to see if it stays running?

Re: Take me to school...1987 3.0 dies when i put it in gear.

If it is running on the flusher and i push the EAS switch by hand the motor should just run rough correct? And If it dies then would setting the idle up some help? I am just trying to elimate the easy things before changing a cable. This motor was put into the pontoon 2 years ago so I really dont know how old the cables are. I would think they would have been changed when swapped to the pontoon (I would have) but we all know about assumptions.

Re: Take me to school...1987 3.0 dies when i put it in gear.

The switch is NOT used for going into gear. It's only needed coming out of gear as described in the how to. Did you read it?
Start it up, shift it into gear, if the shift interrupt switch is activated going into gear, you need a new cable or drive repair.
Remove the outdrive, disconnect the cable from the engine and move the cable. It should move full stroke very easily with little force. If it doesn't replace it.

Re: Take me to school...1987 3.0 dies when i put it in gear.

Yes I read it or maybe I should say missread it. My stupidity knows no boundries. The motor never dies when coming out of gear only when going in gear. To be honest I'm pretty confused at this point. If it ever stops raining here long enough I will go out and double check it. I know that there is a switch that I can see where the shift cable connects to the motor but I just thought this was like a nuetral safety switch on a transmission. There is a good chance I'm over my head. Also it seems to shift pretty easy (I will have to take the drive off and try what you said of course). BTW drive repair sounds like bad news.

Re: Take me to school...1987 3.0 dies when i put it in gear.

went back and reread. Stupid me of course. I think I can eliminate EAS problems because coming out of gear isnt an issue. Thanks Don.