Difficult finding neutral after new lower cable

[jonny rotten]

I just did the bellows Gimbal bearing and lower shift cable.
First time out going from forward to neutral was very difficult. Forward throttle seems harder than I remember it being. I didnt use reverse much but when I did I think was the same issue going into neutral.

I never stalled and there was no grinding of the gears.

When I installed the inner core of the lower shift cable it had some resistance but not much. I was thinking the resistance was coming the way the cable was curved around the engine. I used a chaser wire but cant be sure it's exactly the same route as it was before as I did it alone and had some issues.

The roller in the outdrive spun easily and I greased it.

I did the shifter cable adjustment by the book. 6 inches on the lower cable, adjusted the cable above it then 4 turns back, nut all the way down in the slot

In the driveway it goes into neutral easy

Why would throttle be stiff in gear and hard finding neutral with a new cable. Throttle out of gear rev's easy

1990 mercruiser Alpha one gen one

 

[jonny rotten]

In another active thread someone mentioned that if the shift interrupter was no good it would be near impossible to find neutral. Does my issue sound like that could be my problem, If so how should I diagnose it and test it?

 

[Pruno]

I think what you're describing is the same issue I had which you can see a couple ideas and my solution here

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...rupter-switch-not-working-activating-too-late

I found that, in my case, there was too much free play in the lower shift cable. I also had the same issue of resistance installing the lower shift cable. It seemed that first turn to the starboard side was a little to tight for the solid cable end to make the turn, so I think I may have scored the cable jacket some.
You could use a multimeter and check the continuity of the switch.
When I put everything back together I put a bungee on the prop to hold some tension, plugged a multimeter to the interrupter switch with the audible continuity (I'm sure theres a name for that), and gently shifted into neutral to make sure everything was working right and that the interrupter switch was closing.
I'm obviously not one if the experts and one of them may chime in and say what I did wasn't a good idea, but I cant see a reason that it would damage anything or be unsafe. Engine off of course.
hth
Matt

 

[jonny rotten]

I think what you're describing is the same issue I had which you can see a couple ideas and my solution here

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...ating-too-late

I found that, in my case, there was too much free play in the lower shift cable. I also had the same issue of resistance installing the lower shift cable. It seemed that first turn to the starboard side was a little to tight for the solid cable end to make the turn, so I think I may have scored the cable jacket some.
You could use a multimeter and check the continuity of the switch.
When I put everything back together I put a bungee on the prop to hold some tension, plugged a multimeter to the interrupter switch with the audible continuity (I'm sure theres a name for that), and gently shifted into neutral to make sure everything was working right and that the interrupter switch was closing.
I'm obviously not one if the experts and one of them may chime in and say what I did wasn't a good idea, but I cant see a reason that it would damage anything or be unsafe. Engine off of course.
hth
Matt

I read through your thread. Was the problem the shift shaft "shoe" being spayed out or was it more than that. Seems simple enough to squeeze it closed a little to tighten it up in the lever.

It's seems like the the main culprit is excess slack somewhere according to what achris said?

looks like we have the same engine outdrive except I have the ball type shift interrupter

 

[Pruno]

I think it was mostly from the shoe, but the sum of the play at each point added to the total excess play.
it was definitely better after I squeezed that shoe together, but not perfect. Currently I have the drive off. I'm going to rotate the shift cable jacket 1/2 turn (thinking that will give me a smooth side incase I did score the cable jacket during install). Installing a new shift lever, and I think I can tighten the shoe just a smidge more.

 

[dubs283]

if the shift interrupter was no good it would be near impossible to find neutral...If so how should I diagnose it and test it?

yes

shift interrupt switch is located on the shift plate, where the two cables "meet"

with the engine running in neutral, if you manually engage the switch the engine should die, if not the switch is bad or you have a wiring issue

if the engine does die, either the switch needs adjustment or the shift cable(s) need adjustment

as far as the throttle being stiff, that could be related to the shift cable (maybe) or the remote assy, or the throttle cable itself. once you get the shift issue fixed then focus on the throttle issue

 

[jonny rotten]

I think it was mostly from the shoe, but the sum of the play at each point added to the total excess play.
it was definitely better after I squeezed that shoe together, but not perfect. Currently I have the drive off. I'm going to rotate the shift cable jacket 1/2 turn (thinking that will give me a smooth side incase I did score the cable jacket during install). Installing a new shift lever, and I think I can tighten the shoe just a smidge more.

I just put the outdrive on a few days ago. When I was lining up the shoe to slide on the outdrive iI remember the shoe sort of being "in" the outdrive a bit. I'm assuming I need to get in there with needle nose or something similar WHILE the outdrive is attached otherwise how will I know how much to squeeze it without the lever being in the shoe? Assuming that is flared out in the first place

 

[Pruno]

I just put the outdrive on a few days ago. When I was lining up the shoe to slide on the outdrive iI remember the shoe sort of being "in" the outdrive a bit. I'm assuming I need to get in there with needle nose or something similar WHILE the outdrive is attached otherwise how will I know how much to squeeze it without the lever being in the shoe? Assuming that is flared out in the first place

You might be able to get in there with pliers. I had my outdrive off, and I was able to remove the upper shift shaft and put it in the bench vice. I squeezed it just a little, placed it on to the "foot" to compare, did that a few times to get it where I wanted. I put a fair amount of pressure on it to bring it back, probably more than I could have applied with pliers and my meat hooks.