cant get outdrive in gear for removal

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ssminno0w

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i just bought 1986 seasprite with 140 mercruiser alpha1 gen 1. im trying to do maintenance but cant get outdrive to go into gear to remove outdrive. ive read alot of posts but im new to i/o so not sure of some of the terms have seloc manual but besides basic info its lacking dtails to troubleshoot my particular setup.
 
Don S

Don S

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

Just drop the lower unit first, then pull the upper. Without the lower it doesn't matter what gear you are in.

Might want to drain the gear lube first.
 
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stonyloam

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

To elaborate a little on Don's post: The reason it needs to be in forward is that the top of the intermediate shift shaft (in your gearhousing {lower}) slides into the coupler at the bottom of the upper shift shaft located in the bellhousing (which stays on the boat). Both the i ss and u ss need to be pointed straight ahead to slide apart. If you are in any gear other than forward the coupler and shaft are turned counterclockwise and will not slide apart without damaging the shafts. When you drop the gearhousing the i ss simply drops out of the bottom of the u ss and then the driveshaft housing (upper) can be pulled with no problem. Sometimes it helps to know why you are doing something when you are new at this. Good luck.
 
ktbarrentine

ktbarrentine

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

ssminno0w said:
i just bought 1986 seasprite with 140 mercruiser alpha1 gen 1. im trying to do maintenance but cant get outdrive to go into gear to remove outdrive. ive read alot of posts but im new to i/o so not sure of some of the terms have seloc manual but besides basic info its lacking dtails to troubleshoot my particular setup.
Click to expand...

Welcome to you and best of luck! If you've read alot of posts on here about your issue, then you should have seen many that say to trash that Seloc manual and pick up the one that is linked electronically in various threads of this nature. You also still should learn how to get your drive in gear with the drive fully installed. This will come in handy when going back together. Can you elaborate on what the symptoms are when you push your shift lever all the way forward?
 
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ssminno0w

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

thank you to all who responded. when i push the control forward to engage gear the lever goes forward i can see the control on top of engine move but when i turn propellor it still moves freely. from what i read here if i read it correctly it should lock in by turning c c w. also it wont go in reverse at all. it wont go past nuetral and i didnt want to put too much force on it so i turned to u for advice before i damage it more. today i finally got drain plug out gear oil was clean no milk or metal. i read your posts about not having to b in gear to remove lower housing so i succeeded in doing that and got to water pump. the actual impellor was pretty warped but housing and shaft were clean. the rubber bushing was on shaft was in two pieces. i found on lower housing stamped in mr 9413-c-s but couldnt find any on upper unit the decals are still on it and i looked them up but none of them match up. ill post them when i get home from work tomorrow. i havent been able to find a stamped set of numbers im probably not looking in right place.
 
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ssminno0w

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

ktbarrentine said:
Welcome to you and best of luck! If you've read alot of posts on here about your issue, then you should have seen many that say to trash that Seloc manual and pick up the one that is linked electronically in various threads of this nature. You also still should learn how to get your drive in gear with the drive fully installed. This will come in handy when going back together. Can you elaborate on what the symptoms are when you push your shift lever all the way forward?
Click to expand...

yes i read on here the only good use for seloc manual is booster seat for kids or kneeing on it to fix your boat to save your knees. ill b getting the manual u suggested tomorrow. :)
 
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stonyloam

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

OK, you have the gearhousing off right? See that little splined shaft in the front? There should be a 1" stainless washer on it, put that somewhere safe so it doesn't get lost. Turn the shaft all the way clockwise, then try to turn the prop shaft, should lock CCW, one step CCW on the shaft is neutral, all the way CCW shaft should lock CW. If that works out your gearhousing is working correctly. Now look at the bellhousing, there should be a square shaft at the end of the shift cable, that is the shift slide. It should move freely, aft when you shift to F, forward when you shift to N or r. Check that to make sure it is working. The little wheel on the upper shift shaft lever should be captured between the two arms on the slide. Do that stuff and get back to us.
 
ktbarrentine

ktbarrentine

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

Sounds like he has the lower off only so far....so he is not in a position yet to be able to see the shift slide.... But...he should be able to see the upper shift shaft shoe and see what it does when he shifts the lever fwd-n-rev. (if he does not pull the upper drive off during this maintenance, he will at least have to make sure the shift shafts are syncronized upon reassembly). I'd still like to know what he is seeing or not seeing when he moves the shifter lever. Are you sure you are not pushing in the "throttle only" button when shifting? Did your shifter work ok before you started your maintenance? Just curious.
 
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ssminno0w

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

i only have the lower housing off. today i replaced sea impellor and housing with the kit along with orings and gaskets. when i put shifter to forward i only use the top lever not throttle only and i just went to manual link that was attached and the piece on top of engine that i see moving when i push shifter into forward is the cutout switch. the shifter hasnt worked since ive had the boat and before i started working on it. it was stored few years in garage wrapped up. ill download manual in morning when i get home and read it then ill b better able to ask right questions afteri learn terminology and can tell exactly what part is doing what.thanks
 
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ssminno0w

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

thank you for manual link and your help
 
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ssminno0w

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

as i looked up into upper housing (still attached to boat) the u shaped shifter is turned towrds the starboard(right side from back of boat) as i put shifter in forward nothing happens down at the upper housing and i still cant get shifter into reverse. i also cant get electric trim to work to get upper out of trailering mode just get a click @ the pump. would this stop me from being able to get into gear or is it non related. thanks
 
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ssminno0w

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

i read in the link provided that it may be lower shift cable is broken or frozen. if so how do i go about removing upper housing without being in forward gear. or is there a way to manually put it into forward gear to be able to remove upper unit
 
achris

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

With the lower housing off, the intermediate shift shaft should drop down out of the shoe on the bottom of the upper shift shaft, and allow you to remove the drive shaft housing from the bell housing...

Chris......
 
ktbarrentine

ktbarrentine

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

achris said:
With the lower housing off, the intermediate shift shaft should drop down out of the shoe on the bottom of the upper shift shaft, and allow you to remove the drive shaft housing from the bell housing...

Chris......
Click to expand...
Havent tried it that way myself yet.... With the shifter "stuck" in neutral, would the shift slide cooperate and let you pull the upper from the bell housing? Just curious.
 
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ssminno0w

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

ok ill give it a try and take off upper i was just nervous i would screw something up that cant be fixed.. thanks for help ill post my progress.
 
achris

achris

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

ktbarrentine said:
Havent tried it that way myself yet.... With the shifter "stuck" in neutral, would the shift slide cooperate and let you pull the upper from the bell housing? Just curious.
Click to expand...

The only thing that stops you pulling the drive when it's not in forward is that shaft shoe.... Get the intermediate shaft out of the shoe and the drive shaft housing will slide straight off, just like if it was in forward... :D
 
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stonyloam

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

ktbarrentine said:
Havent tried it that way myself yet.... With the shifter "stuck" in neutral, would the shift slide cooperate and let you pull the upper from the bell housing? Just curious.
Click to expand...

The shift slide is entirely inside of the bellhousing and will have no impact on the removal.
 
ktbarrentine

ktbarrentine

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Re: cant get outdrive in gear for removal

stonyloam said:
The shift slide is entirely inside of the bellhousing and will have no impact on the removal.
Click to expand...
Ding-Ding-Ding!!! What WAS I thinking!!!:facepalm: Thanks. Cant think on no caffeine!
 
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