I have an 92 Stingray, alpha 1, gen 2, mercruiser 3.0. Replaced the bellows and gimbal bearing, but have several issues.
1. Can't get neutral interrupter to work correctly. Following all info I could find online, I left just enough slack in the shift cable at the drive so that the shift head could spin, but there was no back and forth play. Shift cable moves freely, no binding at all from shift mechanism to drive. All information stated to adjust barrel on lower cable to 6" from hole for shift stud, center-to-center. After making sure upper cable moved 3" +/- 1/8", I turned barrel out 4 additional turns, and whaala, I couldn't get it on. I noticed before making these adjustments that my barrel on the lower cable was much more than 6" out (approx. `1/2" extra), and made the immediate assumption that some idiot before me didn't know what they were doing. Long story short, there is a preloaded "shock" type thing that assist the upper cable, and it is too long to get on the mechanism when the shift cable is set at 6", so the additional 1/2" is necessary on the lower shift cable (sorry guy who I made bad assumptions about). Bottom line: I have the shift cables set up so that it locks in both directions, and there is sufficient ratchet tension in both directions and shift cable remains locked in. HOWEVER, when I tried shifting boat into gear it grinds both ways. I noticed the shift interrupter makes no effort to move. When my son puts pressure on the prop with his hand (engine off, of course), the shift interrupter does seem to work. So, before putting the boat in I decided to use a large (20 gal.) tub and test the shifting. In the tub, the interrupter still doesn't work and the boat grinds into gear. Question: Should the water tension in the tub be adequate to shift the boat properly, or is the volume of water insufficient and is there some hope that it will work correctly when I put in? Should the boat shift properly when out of water?
2. After taking the drive apart 6 or so times to try to solve the mysterious shift issue, I noticed that some of the oil has leaked from the drive into the bellows, so I know the seal needs to be replaced where the drive shaft enters the upper unit. I see there is one tool that I will need to take a giant sized nut off at that location. I fear I may also have a leak where the lower drive shaft enters the upper unit, just above the water pump. Ordering a seal kit is the easy part, but I can't find a youtube or any other very specific directions for completing this task. Would someone be kind enough to tell me exactly what tools are required, and what tricks I should know before attempting this. I saw a drive gear, driven gear, and pinion shimming tools. I'm theorizing that all of this was done properly from the factory, and these tools are to ensure that one tightens these items down to a very specific depth by seating on a fixed ledge or ridge in the casting. I'm also theorizing that if I properly mark the nut and pinion or gear shaft and then count the precise number of turns to get the pinion or gear out, I can simply reuse the existing shims and retighten to exactly the number of counts that the item was removed and skip purchasing these tools. I know the many mechanics out there will advise me not to do it, but I'd rather know if it CAN be done than if it SHOULD be done. I only paid $1500 for the boat and trailer so I just don't want to overinvest in it. I'd rather take my best inexpensive whack at it, maybe get another year or two of fun out of it, and then either buy and SEI replacement, or let the next guy roll the dice for a bargain price and upgrade.
Any advice/help is appreciated.... summer is passing me by and I just want to get out on the water a few times before it is over.
Thanks!
1. Can't get neutral interrupter to work correctly. Following all info I could find online, I left just enough slack in the shift cable at the drive so that the shift head could spin, but there was no back and forth play. Shift cable moves freely, no binding at all from shift mechanism to drive. All information stated to adjust barrel on lower cable to 6" from hole for shift stud, center-to-center. After making sure upper cable moved 3" +/- 1/8", I turned barrel out 4 additional turns, and whaala, I couldn't get it on. I noticed before making these adjustments that my barrel on the lower cable was much more than 6" out (approx. `1/2" extra), and made the immediate assumption that some idiot before me didn't know what they were doing. Long story short, there is a preloaded "shock" type thing that assist the upper cable, and it is too long to get on the mechanism when the shift cable is set at 6", so the additional 1/2" is necessary on the lower shift cable (sorry guy who I made bad assumptions about). Bottom line: I have the shift cables set up so that it locks in both directions, and there is sufficient ratchet tension in both directions and shift cable remains locked in. HOWEVER, when I tried shifting boat into gear it grinds both ways. I noticed the shift interrupter makes no effort to move. When my son puts pressure on the prop with his hand (engine off, of course), the shift interrupter does seem to work. So, before putting the boat in I decided to use a large (20 gal.) tub and test the shifting. In the tub, the interrupter still doesn't work and the boat grinds into gear. Question: Should the water tension in the tub be adequate to shift the boat properly, or is the volume of water insufficient and is there some hope that it will work correctly when I put in? Should the boat shift properly when out of water?
2. After taking the drive apart 6 or so times to try to solve the mysterious shift issue, I noticed that some of the oil has leaked from the drive into the bellows, so I know the seal needs to be replaced where the drive shaft enters the upper unit. I see there is one tool that I will need to take a giant sized nut off at that location. I fear I may also have a leak where the lower drive shaft enters the upper unit, just above the water pump. Ordering a seal kit is the easy part, but I can't find a youtube or any other very specific directions for completing this task. Would someone be kind enough to tell me exactly what tools are required, and what tricks I should know before attempting this. I saw a drive gear, driven gear, and pinion shimming tools. I'm theorizing that all of this was done properly from the factory, and these tools are to ensure that one tightens these items down to a very specific depth by seating on a fixed ledge or ridge in the casting. I'm also theorizing that if I properly mark the nut and pinion or gear shaft and then count the precise number of turns to get the pinion or gear out, I can simply reuse the existing shims and retighten to exactly the number of counts that the item was removed and skip purchasing these tools. I know the many mechanics out there will advise me not to do it, but I'd rather know if it CAN be done than if it SHOULD be done. I only paid $1500 for the boat and trailer so I just don't want to overinvest in it. I'd rather take my best inexpensive whack at it, maybe get another year or two of fun out of it, and then either buy and SEI replacement, or let the next guy roll the dice for a bargain price and upgrade.
Any advice/help is appreciated.... summer is passing me by and I just want to get out on the water a few times before it is over.
Thanks!