LT ScottyK
Recruit
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2014
- Messages
- 3
Hello everyone, I could use some help troubleshooting my shift issue. I'm the proud owner of a 1987 Starcraft Bowrider for Father's Day (yeah big points to the wife!) and on its maiden voyage noticed something wrong with the shift. I discovered that the shift lever is very tough going into reverse and that the engine will often stall. As you can imagine this became very obvious when trying to put her back on the trailer at a public launch on a windy day; but that's boating for you! There were no strange noises or clicking, it was just hard to go into reverse and would stall (forward was smooth as silk).
So I did my homework and due diligence in investigating the common faults and quickly found all the information on the lower shift cable. I studied the adjustment procedures and manuals and in doing so I feel compelled to thank all those on here who contribute to the forum. There was a wealth of information and I am grateful for it all. I think the stalling is normal and part of the ESA system doing its job.
I checked the obvious things under the hood and all the cable measurements are spot on. The shift sleeve at the shift plate is set correctly (core wire and cable). When the lower shift cable is removed from the rocker the shifter goes smooth forward and back, choke responds, and all seems correct.
Next I removed the outdrive and got a look at the back end. The bell crank was at 90 degrees and there was no visible damage or excessive corrosion. This is a saltwater boat so there was some buildup and a shortage of grease, but nothing too scary looking. The shift shaft on the outdrive moves freely up and down and everything seems fine there as well.
I cleaned everything up and did a dry-land engine-off test with the outdrive still off and the shifter goes smoothly into forward and reverse (which it did before I cleaned it with the outdrive off). I reinstalled the outdrive and with the engine off, it still goes into reverse hard and forward easy. . . . Essentially I'm saying that I've measured everything that could be measured and checked everything I can think to check and I have not found the smoking gun.
But, I did notice one thing which leads me to a theory. And since this is a rather large presumption, I was hoping I could get some insight from those with more knowledge than I. While conducting dry-land, engine-off testing, with the outdrive installed I have found only one symptom and two possible indicators. The symptom is hard reverse (forward remains good). The first of two possible causes is that there is some slop (1/8") in the casing guide at the outdrive end. Meaning that the cable has 1/8" of play before the bell crank moves. (All pieces and parts were inspected and look good). The second observation is that when moving the shift lever (from neutral) into forward (dry-land, engine-off, outdrive installed), that engages the EAS cam and enables the system.
This last part got me thinking and doing more homework. The EAS is only supposed to engage when going out of gear, not into gear. Which leads me to my theory (sigh) . . . . that the cable is stretched. (BTW it is a "newer" red cable and does not have a ribbed jacket.) My theory is that the cable is stretched such that when going into reverse the cable must be pushed and therefore 'compress' causing the hard shift into reverse and that when pulling the cable into forward the 'compression' must be removed which adds enough resistance to move the EAS cam. But since this only happens with the outdrive on (recall the test is fine with the drive off) then there must be some required preload on the cable to make this theory plausible. I don't think the shift rod is too tough by any means and I think all the measurements are good.
So there you have it, IMO these are very subtle indicators and before I put this back together for good and go down some other rabbit hole, I thought it appropriate to ask you all. Thank you for your time reading my post, and thank you to those who have posted elsewhere who helped me get this far!
- Scotty K
So I did my homework and due diligence in investigating the common faults and quickly found all the information on the lower shift cable. I studied the adjustment procedures and manuals and in doing so I feel compelled to thank all those on here who contribute to the forum. There was a wealth of information and I am grateful for it all. I think the stalling is normal and part of the ESA system doing its job.
I checked the obvious things under the hood and all the cable measurements are spot on. The shift sleeve at the shift plate is set correctly (core wire and cable). When the lower shift cable is removed from the rocker the shifter goes smooth forward and back, choke responds, and all seems correct.
Next I removed the outdrive and got a look at the back end. The bell crank was at 90 degrees and there was no visible damage or excessive corrosion. This is a saltwater boat so there was some buildup and a shortage of grease, but nothing too scary looking. The shift shaft on the outdrive moves freely up and down and everything seems fine there as well.
I cleaned everything up and did a dry-land engine-off test with the outdrive still off and the shifter goes smoothly into forward and reverse (which it did before I cleaned it with the outdrive off). I reinstalled the outdrive and with the engine off, it still goes into reverse hard and forward easy. . . . Essentially I'm saying that I've measured everything that could be measured and checked everything I can think to check and I have not found the smoking gun.
But, I did notice one thing which leads me to a theory. And since this is a rather large presumption, I was hoping I could get some insight from those with more knowledge than I. While conducting dry-land, engine-off testing, with the outdrive installed I have found only one symptom and two possible indicators. The symptom is hard reverse (forward remains good). The first of two possible causes is that there is some slop (1/8") in the casing guide at the outdrive end. Meaning that the cable has 1/8" of play before the bell crank moves. (All pieces and parts were inspected and look good). The second observation is that when moving the shift lever (from neutral) into forward (dry-land, engine-off, outdrive installed), that engages the EAS cam and enables the system.
This last part got me thinking and doing more homework. The EAS is only supposed to engage when going out of gear, not into gear. Which leads me to my theory (sigh) . . . . that the cable is stretched. (BTW it is a "newer" red cable and does not have a ribbed jacket.) My theory is that the cable is stretched such that when going into reverse the cable must be pushed and therefore 'compress' causing the hard shift into reverse and that when pulling the cable into forward the 'compression' must be removed which adds enough resistance to move the EAS cam. But since this only happens with the outdrive on (recall the test is fine with the drive off) then there must be some required preload on the cable to make this theory plausible. I don't think the shift rod is too tough by any means and I think all the measurements are good.
So there you have it, IMO these are very subtle indicators and before I put this back together for good and go down some other rabbit hole, I thought it appropriate to ask you all. Thank you for your time reading my post, and thank you to those who have posted elsewhere who helped me get this far!
- Scotty K
