Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

jaa241 · Jun 1, 2013

Hey guys, I have been working on a boat recently. Replaced the shift cable, all those bellows and such. Did the shift cable adjustment as per Achris's video which was great. Took the boat in the water, shifts great into both forward and reverse, but stalls most of the time going back to neutral. The shift cable with drive installed is very smooth.

Sometimes it stall the engine, but some other times it actually goes into neutral at the control box but does not come out of gear. The throttle arm needs to be shaken back and forth and eventually the shift interrupt switch does its job, stalls engine for a msec and then comes out of gear. Other times is stalls completely.

I checked the timing with a gun and it is right on along with the dwell.
Lower shift cable is new

Could it be an issue stated in achriss video comments of the grub-screw being to tight?

This is a mercruiser 3.0l Chris craft scorpion 168. I'd appreciate any help

Don S · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

Did you use an oem cable or one of those cheep aftermarket ones? Was the shift slide adjusted properly? Too tight and it will stall the engine.

What drive do you have? Serial number, maybe even year will work.

jaa241 · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

Don S said:
Did you use an oem cable or one of those cheep aftermarket ones? Was the shift slide adjusted properly? Too tight and it will stall the engine.

What drive do you have? Serial number, maybe even year will work.

Purchased it in a kit, with bellow,seals and such. How can you determine if it was an oem or cheap aftermarket
It's alpha 1 gen 1. I will get you the serial number tomorrow.

Thank you very much

Don S · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

jaa241 said:
Purchased it in a kit, with bellow,seals and such. How can you determine if it was an oem or cheap aftermarket
It's alpha 1 gen 1. I will get you the serial number tomorrow.

What was the part number of the kit?

jaa241 · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

Don S said:
What was the part number of the kit?

Shift Cable Bellow Transom Repair Kit Adhesive for Mercruiser Alpha One 1 | eBay

Don't believe it had a part number or anything on the bag it came in.

Do you have a part number of a the oem shift cable I should order and would it be possible to replace the cable without taking off the gimble housing? or would it be okay to just slide out the core and replace it the oem one? Thanks again for all your help

jaa241 · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

Would you know what part number would be for a lower shift cable for the alpha one gen one?

dubs283 · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

jaa241 said:
Would you know what part number would be for a lower shift cable for the alpha one gen one?

quicksilver 865436A03

jaa241 · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

dubs283 said:
quicksilver 865436A03

So do you think it would be possible to replace the cable without separating the bellows. Thanka again

dubs283 · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

the quicksilver kit comes complete with bellows

it would be virtually impossible to remove the cable without removing the bellows forn the transom assy

achris · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

jaa241 said:
So do you think it would be possible to replace the cable without separating the bellows. Thanka again

Yes.... BUT, that kit is a VERY cheap (and most probably) nasty enough to be your problem. I would also toss ALL that other parts... We have a member here, Fun Times. His signature is something to the effect 'OEM parts will be cheaper in the long term'. It's very true. You have a nasty cheap rubbish uni-joint bellows on... How much is the cost of repairing all the parts that will be damaged when it leaks? Considerably more than the amount you 'saved' by using the cheap parts in the first place!

Chris............

achris · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

dubs283 said:
the quicksilver kit comes complete with bellows

it would be virtually impossible to remove the cable without removing the bellows fron the transom assy

Bit of engine oil and it slides through nicely. (once the top end is dis-assembled)....

Chris.....

jaa241 · Jun 2, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

Thanks guys!
Also I have been looking up transom seal kits and just bellows do you have any suggestion on those such as a part numbers.

So atleast replacing the shift cable should get rid of the going into neutral and still staying in gear issue, correct?

achris · Jun 2, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

Use OEM parts and you'll have less problems.

OEM Transom seal kit (all bellows, gimbal bearing, gasket and a few other bits and pieces) 30-803097T1
OEM shift cable -865436A02 (if you are NOT getting the transom seal kit, use cable number -865436A03. It includes the bellows and gaskets etc...)

These are for drives before 1991. You still haven't supplied your serial number, so there is a chance these could be wrong...

Chris.......

jaa241 · Jun 3, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

Thank you very much.

I have already read it could be an issue with the castle nut found by the clutch. Could that be true if it worn down. I will go e you serial after I get out of work. Thanks again guys

achris · Jun 3, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

jaa241 said:
Thank you very much.

I have already read it could be an issue with the castle nut found by the clutch. Could that be true if it worn down. I will go e you serial after I get out of work. Thanks again guys

???????????????

You're going to have to define this a little differently. What castle nut? and the only clutch in the drive is the dog clutch in the gear housing, and there is no castle nut anywhere near it (in fact, there are no castle nuts in the drive at all... are you referring to the drive-shaft housing cover nut??? maybe????....)

Chris........

Don S · Jun 3, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

I do believe he is referring to the castle nut on the end of the shift spool.

Not sure why, it will not cause his problem. Just wanting to find something wrong that isn't. The cable and/or the the adjustment of the cables is the problem, or maybe the shift shaft bushings being corroded and binding. But not the castle nut on the shift spool :facepalm:

achris · Jun 3, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

Don S said:
I do believe he is referring to the castle nut on the end of the shift spool....

Oh yeah... Forgot about that one... Been a while since I've needed to go there.....

jaa241 · Jun 4, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

Gimbal housing serial is 0823284

And outdrive serial is 6873784

Is it possible to tell what year these were manuf, in

Thanks

achris · Jun 4, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

jaa241 said:
Gimbal housing serial is 0823284

And outdrive serial is 6873784

Is it possible to tell what year these were manuf, in

Thanks

1985, and I think you'll find that the gimbal housing serial number starts with a 6, not a 0.

jaa241 · Jun 4, 2013

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

achris said:
1985, and I think you'll find that the gimbal housing serial number starts with a 6, not a 0.

Thanks. It probably is. It is very washed out and hard to read. Thanks. Waiting on replacement of new cable. Hopfeully in this weekend.

Mercruiser 3.0L shifting out of gear to neutral engine stall

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