alpha 1 gen 1 shift problems, need help

[Josephmcg]

hello all, i have a 1982 sea ray srv197. love this thing, anyways she started shifting funny. when shifting forward or reverse she gears past the detent in the control box. basically gears right when throttle advances and i have to pull the throttle back to stop from lurching forward or back. so i pulled the boat out of the water, i did the 6" adjustment on the lower cable, and re adjusted the upper shift as per achris on youtube. now when i shift to forward she gears at the 10 oclock detent on the control box, prop locked ccw, when i shift back to neutral prop spins freely, when i shift to reverse prop does not lock clockwise, now it chatters. again these tests are being performed on the trailer. if i take the lower shift cable off i can get the drive to lock in forward or reverse no problem. when all is connected, i cant get the prop to lock in reverse. i moved the lower shift cable in the slot and still nothing. with the drive assembled if i shift to reverse i can get under the outdrive and push the shift fork where the upper and lower mate and i can get the prop to lock in reverse if i push that fork just another 1/8 inch.

does this sound like my lower cable? or shift spool? the shift cable is 4-5 years old, however it was already in the furthest spot in the slot... not sure where to go from here, please help! any will be much appreicated.

i am also including a pic to show where my shift fork is when in drive, i know it should be pointing at 12 oclock, but its more like 11:55

thanks -joe

 

[achris]

Move the anchor stud on the end of the lever (that both the remote cable and lower shift cable connect to) up slightly. That will increase the 'throw' in reverse without affecting forward. (I did go through that in the video).

Chris.....

 

[Josephmcg]

thank you so much for your reply achris well, i tried to move it up the slot, however it was already at the farthest point, which i also thought was strange because a new cable was installed 4 years ago, along with all the bellows and gimbal bearing. i have the shift set up that is mounted behind the distributor, so essentially moving the lower cable in the slot closer to the upper cable will extend the reverse travel... i even made the slot longer and still doesnt engange reverse, although it will if i manually push the shift fork another 1/8" ... i also did the tests on the cables to see if they are in spec and they are... here are some vids i took when i got the upper off today... funny the boat still does go into both gears in the water, but i know its not correct

 

[Josephmcg]

so i guess i am going to replace the lower shift cable, while doing that someone on another forum suggested i do the itermediate shift arm, and the splined shift rod in the lower unit after watching my video so i guess i will replace those as well. hopefully this will correct my problem. i will report back my findings

 

[kenny nunez]

Since you plan on removing the drive take a close look where the slider travels into the bell housing. You might just have a build up of marine crud preventing the slider from full forward travel. Also a good thing to do is to clean out the cavity in the drive where the slider travels for reverse.

 

[Josephmcg]

thank you so much for your reply kenny, where the slide travels into the bell housing was full of grease, i guess i went a lil crazy with the grease... i did clean it all out but havent put the drive back on yet, i will try again today and see what happens and ill report my findings

 

[Josephmcg]

so the drive went back on but still had the same problems, i took a video of the intermediate shift shafts throw, its suposed to be 12 degrees or less but mine is way off, i didnt put the new shift shaft in because the throw was off i figured a new shaft and upper shoe wont correct this... here is the vid

 

[dubs283]

In the video about 3/4 through you mentioned some play and wonder if it's normal. It is not, there is a spec for amount of play in the shift shaft when locked in fwd gear. By the looks of the video there is way too much play. Only supposed to be max 12 degrees based on the index in the manual.

It's possible there is slop in the lower shift spool/actuator/slide mechanism that moves the clutch

 

[Josephmcg]

yeah i had actually just said all that in the last post, i tried another lower i have with the same results, i do have a 3rd i am going to try but i may just buy a new drive upper and lower

 

[QBhoy]

In reverse…your prop won’t lock clockwise. It will turn clockwise and make almost a ratchet noise. It will lock anti-clockwise in reverse.

 

[Josephmcg]

actually when you put the drive in forward the prop will lock anti-clockwise, and in reverse the prop will lock clockwise

 

[QBhoy]

actually when you put the drive in forward the prop will lock anti-clockwise, and in reverse the prop will lock clockwise

It shouldn’t

 

[achris]

It shouldn’t

Yes it should!

EDIT: I guess we should first determine which way you are looking at the prop. Standing behind the boat and looking at the aft end of the propeller. 'Forward' is (from that view) clockwise rotation.

 

[dubs283]

It shouldn’t

Yes, it should if everything is correct and the lower is standard rotation.

You see, the clutch will be locked in either gear when the shifter is moved accordingly. Under no load (engine not running) the shift lever in fwd causes the clutch to lock into the fwd gear. The propshaft, under load will rotate clockwise (looking from aft to fwd). Thus under no load in fwd gear the propshaft will rotate clockwise (ratcheting) and not counter clockwise (locked)

 

[QBhoy]

Yes, it should if everything is correct and the lower is standard rotation.

You see, the clutch will be locked in either gear when the shifter is moved accordingly. Under no load (engine not running) the shift lever in fwd causes the clutch to lock into the fwd gear. The propshaft, under load will rotate clockwise (looking from aft to fwd). Thus under no load in fwd gear the propshaft will rotate clockwise (ratcheting) and not counter clockwise (locked)

Absolutely, when stationary my outboard’s prop currently will lock and not turn anti clockwise when reverse is selected. Opposite when in forward. Quite sure of it. At least when it’s in a state that I change props on it. Know what you are saying though.

 

[achris]

Absolutely, when stationary my outboard’s prop currently will lock and not turn anti clockwise when reverse is selected. Opposite when in forward. Quite sure of it. At least when it’s in a state that I change props on it. Know what you are saying though.

Sounds like your outboard has a counter rotate gearbox.

 

[QBhoy]

Sounds like your outboard has a counter rotate gearbox.

It doesn’t Chris. Rh prop. That’s how I change the prop often. Lock in reverse to undo and forward to tighten. Always have done.

 

[dubs283]

.....when stationary my outboard’s prop.....

This thread isn't about your outboard, it's about OP's shifting issue on an alpha one. The information given by achris and myself is correct for the given circumstance, yours isn't. Keep in mind it's possible someone will be reading this thread in the future and be confused/misdirected by misinformation. It is our duty to ensure not only OP is getting the correct information but also future boaters with similar issues.

FYI there are many older, smaller horsepower outboards that do not have ratcheting clutch dogs, the lugs are straight and do not require relief to engage nor ignition interrupt systems to disengage due to the lower force/torque on the clutch. Thus the propshaft will lock in both directions regardless of gear position, excluding neutral

 

[QBhoy]

This thread isn't about your outboard, it's about OP's shifting issue on an alpha one. The information given by achris and myself is correct for the given circumstance, yours isn't. Keep in mind it's possible someone will be reading this thread in the future and be confused/misdirected by misinformation. It is our duty to ensure not only OP is getting the correct information but also future boaters with similar issues.

FYI there are many older, smaller horsepower outboards that do not have ratcheting clutch dogs, the lugs are straight and do not require relief to engage nor ignition interrupt systems to disengage due to the lower force/torque on the clutch. Thus the propshaft will lock in both directions regardless of gear position, excluding neutral

Ok. Likewise with your other posting and your duff and bad info about a gxi. Hope the OP gets the issue sorted, most importantly. All the best.