Re: alpha one gen 1 outdrive not shifting stuck in forward gear
ok here we go. got the drive split wanted to check washers. there is only a stainless washer on top of the shift shaft now rubber not sure what it even should look like. also I have to throttle leaver all the way forward engaged and the picture you sent me above is not right or left it is in the middle. the stainless washer is caved in so bad it is almost a cone shape. what should I be looking at or looking for here.
Straight forward (for the connection between the intermediate and upper shift shafts) is what you are looking for (and sounds like what you have observed...good). The view in the photo is actually showing you what the shifter shoe and mating foot will look like when the drive is in neutral.
What (we) were trying to make sure of is that you had the washer in place that would keep the shift shafts engaged as shown in the foto. Without that washer, the intermediate shaft would be lower and "out of the shoe" of the upper shift shaft.
Sounds like you need to get a new stainless steel washer, and the rubber washer that goes below it (a bit smaller diameter). Guess you could try and beat the one youve got flat again, but this is a short-cut/work around. (Probably got cone shaped by someone trying to force the shift shafts together while not aligned when mating the upper to the lower).
Now that you have the lower off, rotate the splined lower shift shaft all the way clockwise to put you in FWD, while rotating your prop CCW (looking at the prop) to "lock" it in FWD and hold the prop there with a bungie cord. Now you are set up for proper reassembly of lower to upper (at least as far as the shift shafts go.)
Once you get the lower bolted back up to upper, remove the bungie cord, shift the drive to reverse, and try to turn the prop CW and make sure it "locks"; it should also "ratchet" when turning CCW. Go bact to neutral and see if it free wheels each way, the go back to fwd and rotate the prop CCW again to verify the lock, and verify ratcheting when turning CW.
After this you should be ready for pressure test and then filling with oil and testing on muffs. Best of luck!