Bravo 3 stuck in nuetral

[muskyfins]

2000 5.7

A couple of weeks ago, I replaced the lower shift cable due to hard shifting. When the job was done, I checked shifting (while on the trailer) and shifted better but still a little hard.

She sat until today. Last minute check of systems and now it won't shift out of neutral. Feels like the shift fork is comletely jammed. Removed the lower shift cable from the shift plate and tried to shift by hand (while running of course) and it is solid.

The only complication during the cable replacement was when tightening the retaining nut to the bell housing, one of the little tabs to hold the sheath broke off. I put a open end wrench on it to tighten although it never "felt" right. Just kinda sloppy. Little too loose for my tastes. But as I said, it shifted just fine.

Second consecutive Memorial Day ruined.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated before I lose my temper and buy a new drive. (which may not even fix the problem)

 

[alldodge]

Is the motor running when your shifting?

 

[muskyfins]

yes sir.

When I'm trying to shift that is

 

[muskyfins]

I am going to try the shift detent in the morning and see if that's the issue. As well as double check the barrel where the sift cable runs through the bell housing.

 

[alldodge]

The Bravo shifts like butter when the motor is running. You can get the motor running and remove the lower shift cable off the shaft plate, then holding the body and end, just push pull slightly and it will shift.

Sounds like its not doing this. So check that the drive is full of lube (I'm sure it is), and if its hard then there probably is an issue with the clutch and shaft

 

[muskyfins]

Removed back cover this morning. Ball detent completely corroded. Shift lever had lots of rough spots from the ball moving in and out of the detent. The actual detent ball and sleeve were completely immovable. Took everything apart and cleaned. Was able to get detent ball moving freely in its sleeve. Lots of cleaning.

Then put a clean rag in the clutch area and covered with a towel. Used a dremel tool to clean up the rough spots on the shift lever. Gently, but thoroughly removed all sharp edges. Then used a wire wheel on dremel to smooth everything out.

Finally added a small amount of 2-4-C grease to the moving parts and reassembled.

Like All Dodge said, shifts like butter. Like a different boat.

I would have never guessed this would make this big of a difference. This seems like something that should be at least and every 2 years maintenance.

 

[scoflaw]

You got something else going on.. there should be no moisture in there to start any corrosion

 

[alldodge]

Don't know about every two years, but with corrosion you do have a leak going on. I had same issue but did not have a shift issue. Found it during annual maintenance and noticed the rust

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...rives/10147291-after-22-years-and-this-is-all

 

[muskyfins]

There was far more wear than corrosion. Like the ball had beaten up the shift lever socket from aggressive shifting for her first 15 years. (previous owner) Lots of little nicks and gouges. I wish I would have remembered to take before pictures. I'll post the after pictures tomorrow.

As for water intrusion, I replaced the shift shaft bellows when I did the lower cable, so I suspect that will cure the corrosion.

 

[drolds72]

Did you have to drain the lube to remove the access cover to the detent ball?

 

[muskyfins]

Did you have to drain the lube to remove the access cover to the detent ball?

Not much. I drained a to about the vent hole. (by guessing/checking). Tilted drive all the way up. Gear oil was just below gasket/o-ring. Clutch and gears still more than half covered with oil. Under almost any circumstances, I would have just drained/filled, but that gear oil was less than 24 hours since filled. Still crystal clear. (well as clear as gear oil can be)

 

[dubs283]

Did you have to drain the lube to remove the access cover to the detent ball?

You need to drain a bit of lube from the drive otherwise there will be a mess of lube coming from the driveshaft housing area above the shift lever/detent ball cavity.

The shift lever/detent ball cavity is not filled with lube that the driveshaft housing and gearcase share. However it must be greased thoroughly because of the moving parts inside.

Most likely OP's issue is due to a faulty o-ring between the drive and bellhousing. These o-rings must be replaced every time the drive is pulled and any debris or adhesive must be cleaned from the mating areas between the drive and bellhousing to ensure a proper seal. Otherwise water can leak into these areas

There are two styles of shift levers available from mercruiser, one has a shouldered cam/detent pocket and the other is a ramped cam/detent pocket. Sometimes hard shifting can be alleviated by changing to the ramped style