Alpha One Gen+ smooth fwd, clattering rev

[jkimball]

Recently made the move from outboards to my first stern drive. I have a '97 Regal Destiny 200 with a 4.3LX - Alpha One Gen+

I ran it yesterday on muffs, drive down within trim range and it goes into fwd flawlessly. Of course you get standard mercruiser "clunk" but nothing alarming. Reverse is the problem, when shifting into reverse I get a chattering or a clicking sound that sounds like it's not fully engaging, unless I give it more throttle and rpms increase. Then it snaps into gear with no further noise.
So with motor off, I put it in gear and in fwd I can turn the prop one way and it ratchets (clockwise I believe) but it stops the other way so all is well.
On the other hand, when in reverse motor off it spins either way, not real freely but feels like it's trying to catch on something.
I've read in several places that I could possibly adjust the stud and nut on the lower cable to possibly fix this, at least for a good while but cable replacement should be considered to be in my future.
Can someone who's experienced this or knows of this problem and a fix please chime in?
Thanks, you guys have always been great!

 

[Scott Danforth]

you should not be shifting on dry land. what you are hearing are the clutch dogs smacking each other. you should adjust your shift cable.

 

[jkimball]

you should not be shifting on dry land. what you are hearing are the clutch dogs smacking each other. you should adjust your shift cable.

Thanks for the reply and help Scott,
That said, should I pull the lower cable from the shift plate and adjust ONLY the reverse pin on the arm so that it give more action? Forward seems to be perfectly fine at the moment, with no issues at all.

I just don't want to make more of an issue out of something really simple if possible.

 

[Rick Stephens]

You should set your shift linkage exactly to standards. Then see if it shifts properly. Here's a video on how to do that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s_tgevX2aI

Rick

 

[jkimball]

Yesterday, when I got home from work I pulled the lower cable, pulled it to manually put the drive in gear to a point where it locks and adjusted only the stud on the Reverse cam to match the point of throw where the cable it locked. At first I was concerned that it may trip the shift interrupt switch, so I took it out on the water and it seemed to work just fine.
Thanks for all the help!
That said, since I have had to adjust the cable, that means it's probably stretched a little. How long should I expect before I should consider replacing it?

 

[harleyman1975]

Maybe the P.O. just put it in and it was not properly adjusted? I say if it is working good/smooth both directions don't worry about it...if it becomes stiff or starts to "feel out of adjustment" then change it.