91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

dtholmanmax · Feb 17, 2006

On my last outing of the summer, as we were cruising accross the lake, the boat suddenly began to rev very high. As I put the boat in neutral, the boat then died. It would start again but everytime I tried to put the boat back into gear, it would bog down and die again. Any ideas as to what the problem may be?

Mischief Managed · Feb 17, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

Sounds like you ran out of gas. I'd look for a fuel system issue. Nuther thought would be that you picked up something with the lower unit that made the prop ventilate and then bound up the prop shaft when you shut down. Look for rope or something down there.

dtholmanmax · Feb 17, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

It's not out of gas, rather it's full. I would probably go with the picking something up in the lowerunit - we pulled the prop already to make sure it hadn't broken the piece in there and it was fine. At this point, it's not really bogging down - more just shutting down when placed from neutral to gear.

fireship1 · Feb 17, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

I think that you have two isolated incidents that appear to be acting as one problem. The high revving sounds to me like you took a turn too hard and pulled the prop slightly out of the water. Stalling when going into gear is commonly caused by a bad lower shift cable or the cable not adjusted properly. Do a search here on the I/O forums. There is plenty of info for adjusting and replacing Mercruiser lower shift cables.

Bondo · Feb 17, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

At this point, it's not really bogging down - more just shutting down when placed from neutral to gear.

So,.... It starts,+ Runs Now,..???....... Can it be Reved in Neutral,..???.... Is it Overheating,..???..... Will it go into Reverse,+ keep running..???..... At this point I agree with Fireboat 1......

dtholmanmax · Feb 18, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

Yes - Starts, Runs, in neutral. Forward, or reverse, it shuts down. Tough to say on running hot - with the muffs on it, though, it didn't seem like it was pulling all of the water through (and back out) like it normally does. It does make sense that it could be something in the linkage/cable. we were thinking/worried that it could be something in the actual lower unit (gears, etc, broken). Would the symptoms be different if that were the case?

Bondo · Feb 18, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

It does make sense that it could be something in the linkage/cable. we were thinking/worried that it could be something in the actual lower unit (gears, etc, broken). Would the symptoms be different if that were the case?

Ayuh,.... The Syptoms Can be the Same...... Have you observed the Shift Interupter when trying to Shift it,..???.... It Shouldn't work At All when running it on Muffs.....The Interupter that is...... Have you tryed Disconnecting the Lower Shift Cable,+ Shifting it from there, by hand,..???... I'd Think that Pulling the Drive might be the Next step........ Just to See, What's Working,+ What Isn't........

Don S · Feb 18, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

Have you checked your gear lube to see if there is metal in it? With the not going into gear and the overheat, all after a high rpm, sounds a lot like the upper gears have all the teeth missing. With them gone, it usually binds up the lower so it won't shift, and the water pump won't be turning, thus the overheat. You could also pull the top cap on the drive and look. Just put a new oring on it if all is ok. Do you have an Alpha I or an Alpha I Gen II drive? Your boat is at the changeover year.

dtholmanmax · Feb 18, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

Don I'm hoping that's not the case although, like I said, it is my worry. We've not taken it down as I've not needed to run it. When you say pull the top cap, you mean pull the cap on the gear oil to check for the shavings? Sorry - relagive newb, here. Not sure if it's a Gen II or not. 3.0L Alpha One - Ser. No. BL1C20CSA191 if that helps. How much/how hard is it to replace the gears. When it happened, it revved high for just a sec, then i put it quickly in neutral. But I think you're right about it not pumping the water if the gears is the case. Will check the linkage and the gear lube before trying to get more involved. ugh...I'm pretty sure we checked the lube, though. THanks again for all the help so far.

Don S · Feb 18, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

THe boat serial number isn't going to help, need either an engine serial number or a drive serial number. You could also look at the drive. An easy way to identify a Gen II drive is shown below.

fireship1 · Feb 19, 2006

Re: 91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

High revving can also be caused by propeller hub slippage. If you hit anything in the water you could have damaged the driveline, coupler, and spun the hub. This type of damage can also cause the same type of symptoms. Overheats (coupler spins the drive shaft that in turn spins the waterpump) Shift problems (Don summed it up, you could have gears with damaged teeth) And high revving (the spun prop hub) It sounds like it's time to take Bondo's advice and pull the drive to give it a complete checkup. The more you run it without knowing what ails it, the more damage you could be doing.

91 3.0L Alpha 1 Cuts off when put in to gear??

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