88 spl stiff shift rod

[73 Dolphin]

When I pulled the lower to rebuild the water pump ,I for some reason,had the shift rod become incredibly stiff. Pretty much stuck solid.

I reinstalled the lower unit on the motor.
It works but needs both hands to engage or disengage gears.

Once it's in gear it runs as it should. No issues other than being really hard to shift.

It's not the control box. It's not the cables. It's the shift rod.

I've read some posts where people have said that the rod has seized in the bushing but they didnt go into any depth about how to get to it or fix it.

Any help would be much appreciated. Also if there's a video out there somewhere I cant find it.
Thanks.

 

[racerone]

Are you turning the prop when shifting ?-----There is a detent and it does require some effort to put it into gear from neutral.

 

[73 Dolphin]

Are you turning the prop when shifting ?-----There is a detent and it does require some effort to put it into gear from neutral.

Yes.

 

[73 Dolphin]

I'll answer my own question. Did a little more searching. Most likely corrosion in the shift shaft housing caused by poor condition anodes. I'll clean them all up.

Instead of pulling the lower unit again I'm going to take the advice I saw in one thread. Fill the lower unit with marvel mystery oil. Let it sit a few days then start shifting. Apparently it will free it up and will shift like butter again. Obviously replace with gear oil after it's working well.

I'll keep this thread updated. I dont plan on using the boat for at least a week so plenty of time to see if it works.

Any other input greatly appreciated.

 

[racerone]

You could turn the shift rod out until it is loose.-----Move it up and down see if it moves easily.-----If not clean the bushing / replace o-ring in there.----Screw shift rod back in to the correct height.-----I am not sure the marvel will to anything to the bushing.----Part of the bushing is outside and not touching any oil !!

 

[73 Dolphin]

You could turn the shift rod out until it is loose.-----Move it up and down see if it moves easily.-----If not clean the bushing / replace o-ring in there.----Screw shift rod back in to the correct height.-----I am not sure the marvel will to anything to the bushing.----Part of the bushing is outside and not touching any oil !!

You are saying drop the lower unit then unscrew the shift rod some? Are you saying unthreading may break up some corosion and then it may move more freely? Just trying to understand. Thanks.

 

[racerone]

????------The shift rod screws into the mechanism way down in the gearcase.----So if you disconnect it you find out if the issue is the jammed bushing or not.----Part of the bushing is outside and away from any oil !-----Not sure who these people are with the marvel oil !!-----Shift rod needs to be set at a specific height.-----So if you are unsure of any of this or what / how it works , just leave it alone.----Sorry.

 

[73 Dolphin]

????------The shift rod screws into the mechanism way down in the gearcase.----So if you disconnect it you find out if the issue is the jammed bushing or not.----Part of the bushing is outside and away from any oil !-----Not sure who these people are with the marvel oil !!-----Shift rod needs to be set at a specific height.-----So if you are unsure of any of this or what / how it works , just leave it alone.----Sorry.

I'm aware that the shift rod is set at a certain height. I have no idea why you are saying to unscrew it. If by unscrewing you are saying that it will start to dislodge any corrosion in the bushing ( which I have already asked) then ok.

The whole point was preferring not to drop the lower again with the mystery oil fix, which was talked about here elsewhere on the forum. It was a solution posted for this exact issue. Cant attest to it without trying it.

The bushing is below the housing and before it screws in I am presuming? Because if it were past the part where it screws in then it wouldnt be a shift rod bushing unless the shift rod is in 2 sections.Unscrewing the shift rod and removing it helps me to determine if the bushing is frozen how? If I cant shift it with the shift rod on then how would I shift it with it off?

If i can unscrew it and pull it out I can clean the corrosion off the rod. Is this what you are saying?

I'm just trying to understand.

 

[racerone]

Good luck with it.

 

[73 Dolphin]

Good luck with it

You really need to get over yourself. I asked valid question.The mystery oil suggestion was from another post with the same issue. I already mentioned that. The shaft is under a housing with seals. Perhaps those seals keep the oil in . Perhaps the gear shift where it connected actually needs oil where is contacts the gears? Maybe it's all dry and just metal on metal? I doubt that. Perhaps elaborate and answer the question without being a condescending ass?

 

[73 Dolphin]

I'm not sure that you actually read what I had asked. I'm reading it now and it makes sense to me. I think you are hung up on the mystery oil suggestion and ignoring my responses. It seems we are in agreement to try and remove the shift shaft. Although as it's in a housing with seals and the shift will actually engage the gears physically I suspect that oil is present where they mesh because it's the gear case.
But to answer the question I asked I'm guessing that you mean that by unscrewing the shaft and pulling it out,I can then work on any corrosion on the bushing, as I had asked. If its higher than the oil level that would also explain corrosion and the mystery oil would not work.
Like I said I'll report back.

 

[racerone]

I do know how these motors / gearcases are put together !

 

[Chris1956]

On my '98 Johnny, the shift rod had become jammed into the cover that it goes thru. It appeared the aluminum cover had swelled a bit, gripping the shift rod. My cure was to replace the cover. The new cover came with the two oring seals already installed, plus the gasket.

Make sure to reinstall the shift rod with the correct height.

 

[73 Dolphin]

I do know how these motors / gearcases are put together !

Apologies racerone. I misunderstood the intention of your earlier posts as "if you dont know how it works I cant help you" instead of "I also dont know fully how it works so I cant help you" . Thanks for reaching out. It is truly appreciated.

From what i can see the elusive bushing i was reading about in other posts and couldnt locate in any parts diagram is,in fact, part of the cover housing. I was incorrectly presuming it was furthur down in the gear casing as the post I'd read spoke about cover and bushing as if they were 2 seperate things and not one assembly.

Now it all makes perfect sense. Theres corrosion where the shaft passes through the cover plate which includes the bushing and its binding.

Thanks again

 

[73 Dolphin]

On my '98 Johnny, the shift rod had become jammed into the cover that it goes thru. It appeared the aluminum cover had swelled a bit, gripping the shift rod. My cure was to replace the cover. The new cover came with the two oring seals already installed, plus the gasket.

Make sure to reinstall the shift rod with the correct height.

Thank you for this answer. I was hung up on there being a seperate bushing somewhere that I couldnt locate. After reading this I realized the the bushing is part of the cover. Doh!

I've ordered a new cover.

 

[racerone]

Any corrosion on the bushing can be cleaned.----The o-ring in there can be replaced.-----Simple fix here.-----And this is only if corrosion is the issue.----And only if the shift rod is tight in the cover !!!-----And at $2.00 / minute some dealers are happy to install a new cover to add to your invoice.----Costs too much to repair clean this item.

 

[Chris1956]

Racer, I was concerned about cleaning the corrosion, which is why I replaced the cover. I thought I might make the hole too large. Do you precision drill the cover to restore it or what?

 

[racerone]

Use a 5/16" drill bit by hand .------Scrapes any corrosion out in seconds.