Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

54fleetwin · Nov 7, 2012

I bought the boat('87 sea ray seville 3.0 alpha 1) 2 weeks ago. Have not put it in the water since owning, been sitting a year. Charged batteries, replaced fuel pump and starter. Put on the muffs and fired her up, checked forward and reverse, seemed to shift fine.
I pulled the l/u to do the impeller, after reinstall I have no reverse. I have read and reread the procedure for the install.
SS cw, prop ccw, bungee cord. I have had the l/u on/off 4 times and get the same result, no reverse. I gets close enough to reverse to hear clicking when spinning the prop but does not lock.

As a side note( which I feel should not have an affect since I did not change anything here) the SS in the upper when in forward is not completely straight front to back. Should it? It appears to be one hour off ccw(towards reverse).

At my wits end here guys, could really use the help with this one.

TIA, Steve

EddiePetty · Nov 7, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

The shift shaft will be dead ahead (forward)when in forward. You are probably nudging it out of position as you lower/raise the lower unit.

54fleetwin · Nov 7, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

No nudging, infact the SS in the upper does not move since the cable is holding it in forward.

Fishermark · Nov 7, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

If the shift shaft is not pointing straight fore and aft when in forward gear, then you might simply have the shaft off a tooth. Is the shaft fully mated in the "shoe?" If not, perhaps you forgot the stainless steel washer that fits over the lower shift shaft.

54fleetwin · Nov 8, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

Washer is present. SS is fully engaged in the "shoe" however shoe is 1 hour off from being a 12 o'clock.

NHGuy · Nov 8, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

Then pull the lower & reorient the shaft so it's dead ahead when in forward.
If you can't get it to do that pull the lower, leaving the shift in forward. Then make sure the shoe is fore & aft straight ahead. Pull the upper, reassemble the upper to the lower. Then put the assembled-in-forward drive, back on, with the shift still in forward. It all needs to be dead ahead to assemble and allow the shift shoe to slide together where the upper meets the bellhousing.
You will need a transom gasket & you ought to grease the u-joints while in there too.
I only say this because I have had lousy luck doing the lower without removing the whole drive.

achris · Nov 8, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

There are only 6 teeth on the splines. To be one tooth out would mean being 60? out, about the 2 o'clock position. If you were one tooth out it would be very obvious. Shift the control into reverse and have a look at the shift shafts. If they have moved (around 90?) them the problem is in the lower. If the amount of movement is not there, the problem is somewhere else. I would pull the complete drive and make sure everything else is in good shape, as well as having a look at the inside of the bellows, grease the unis and check the engine alignment ect.

Chris........

54fleetwin · Nov 9, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

I can shift F N R just fine on the splined shaft in the lower

EddiePetty · Nov 9, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

54fleetwin said:
I can shift F N R just fine on the splined shaft in the lower

Okay, we all agree with the lower unit. Just please, ensure that while the lower unit is removed that the shift 'shoe' (in the lower unit) is in the dead ahead direction when the prop is in forward.

Now, with the lower unit still removed, look at the shift shaft in the 'UPPER' unit. I'll bet that it is NOT facing directly forward. My wager is that the shift cable is out of adjustment, damaged or there is an obstruction defeating a complete shift.

achris · Nov 9, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

Here's a video on how to check the adjustment and excess 'play' in the shift system... It might help.

Mercruiser Alpha Shift cable adjustment - YouTube

Chris.......

wellcraft-classic210 · Nov 9, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

I had a shift cable with a broken plastic tube at the end of the cable housing on the outdrive end. It was inside a cavity in the piece that move the shift shaft roller. ( cannot recall the proper term).

It was bent over during some service work and evenually broke.

That limited my cables travel and in turn -- No reverse.

Also

You can see and feel your shift dog from under the boat. I was able to verify the forward positon was correct before I removed the drive to find the cable problem.

I bought a merc brand cable & noticed they have some better features than the old one & in my opinion are worth the difference in price if that does turn out to be your problem.

Could be something else but I just wanted to mention this possiblity. Good luck.

54fleetwin · Nov 9, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

EddiePetty said:
look at the shift shaft in the 'UPPER' unit. I'll bet that it is NOT facing directly forward. My wager is that the shift cable is out of adjustment, damaged or there is an obstruction defeating a complete shift.

Yes, it appears to be one hour off, towards reverse.

Perplexed as to why the shifter is out of adjustment when it shifted prior to removing the l/u.

I will research the FNR adjustment.

54fleetwin · Nov 9, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

achris said:
Here's a video on how to check the adjustment and excess 'play' in the shift system... It might help.

Mercruiser Alpha Shift cable adjustment - YouTube

Chris.......

Thanks for the vid. Looks like it has a seperate reverse cable. Mine uses the same cable for F N R

achris · Nov 9, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

54fleetwin said:
Thanks for the vid. Looks like it has a seperate reverse cable. Mine uses the same cable for F N R

All Mercruisers use the same cable for F N R. The 2 cables you see in my video are the lower shift cable and the remote control cable... Have a good look at the video and then have a good look at your cables, they are the same.

Chris......

54fleetwin · Nov 13, 2012

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

I pulled the l/u and adjusted the shift cable so that the shoe points to 12 o'clock. Reset the l/u to forward gear and reinstalled. Then made some final cable adjustments until I had F-N-R. Took the boat out to the water and launched it. Shifted fine.

Thanks for the help

hivoltg · Jul 18, 2013

Re: Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

This thread just helped me fix my "no reverse" issue after my impeller change on my mc-1.

Adjusted my shift cables via the specs in the video after verifying everything was right with the lower.

Shifts into f n r perfect now. This forum has saved me so many times.

Joshto · May 22, 2023

After so many years, this thread lives on. It helped me fix my Alpha 1 Gen 1 reverse issues after replacing the impeller. Thanks

Another Alpha 1, no reverse after impeller replacement

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