LU issue

[TaggingTuna]

I have a 85 merc and dropped the LU, when I put it back together it only had forward. I dropped the LU again to fix the issue and now the Shift Shaft spins freely( no gears to turn). It also drops down farther than it should, Help...

 

[Maxz695]

Re: LU issue

The shift shaft may have come out of the guide and got positioned in the wrong section of the guide. I would check up inside the midsection to see if it,s centered before reinstalling making sure the shifter is in neutral and the LU is in neutral. If you removed the cam it will have to be set in the right position. Report back with details if this was done for instuctions.

 

[TaggingTuna]

Re: LU issue

The shift shaft may have come out of the guide and got positioned in the wrong section of the guide. I would check up inside the midsection to see if it,s centered before reinstalling making sure the shifter is in neutral and the LU is in neutral. If you removed the cam it will have to be set in the right position. Report back with details if this was done for instuctions.

Its the shift shaft in the lower unit that is free spinning, the shift shaft drops down in the the lower unit and is supposed to connect with a shift cam. Either the shift cam came off the shift shaft came out of alignment cause it should only twist in three distinct positions, forward, neutral and reverse. But the shaft spins without engaging anything.

 

[Maxz695]

Re: LU issue

View attachment 175089View attachment 175090Unless you removed the lower shift shaft it should be fine. If you removed it whatsoever then it fell out of the cam in the LU View attachment 175088 the cam at the bottom is what changes gears in the LU> If you removed it then the shaft is not properly set in the LU Lower shift shaft cam. If you did not remove the lower LU shift cam then your problem is where the midsection shift shaft meets the lower shift shaft or the shift lever in the cowel area. Further on it would be the shifter bracket or cable adjustment. Apperently you removed the lower shift shaft for whatever god forsaken reason. Get a flashlight and see the part in the picture I posted and see if you cannot realign the lower cam. If you can,t the unit will have to be stripped and re assembled. Bad news I hope you can get it.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: LU issue

I have a 85 merc and dropped the LU, when I put it back together it only had forward. I dropped the LU again to fix the issue and now the Shift Shaft spins freely( no gears to turn). It also drops down farther than it should, Help...

What is meant by "put it back together"? Why was the LU removed initially?
The shift shaft can not be removed by accident. You must first remove the shift shaft bushing.

 

[TaggingTuna]

Re: LU issue

I didn't remove the shift shaft, I removed the lower unit. The shift shaft is inside the LU. It pulls up and down but doesn't come out, It has a retaining clip. The issue is that the shift shaft isn't engaging the cam. It shouldn't spin around and around. it should click into gear forward, neutral and reverse. It just spins

 

[TaggingTuna]

Re: LU issue

View attachment 175089View attachment 175090Unless you removed the lower shift shaft it should be fine. If you removed it whatsoever then it fell out of the cam in the LU View attachment 175088 the cam at the bottom is what changes gears in the LU> If you removed it then the shaft is not properly set in the LU Lower shift shaft cam. If you did not remove the lower LU shift cam then your problem is where the midsection shift shaft meets the lower shift shaft or the shift lever in the cowel area. Further on it would be the shifter bracket or cable adjustment. Apperently you removed the lower shift shaft for whatever god forsaken reason. Get a flashlight and see the part in the picture I posted and see if you cannot realign the lower cam. If you can,t the unit will have to be stripped and re assembled. Bad news I hope you can get it.

This may be what has happened, I didn't remove the shift shaft but I believe the cam has come off, I drained the LU gear lube and looked inside the fill hole and only saw the shaft teeth. I was unable to see the cam. I can't hear it move around as if it was loose inside though. Am I able to remove the part in picture 2 ( the grooved and threaded item) without a special tool.

 

[Maxz695]

Re: LU issue

Probably not without doing damage to it. I had to cut the case to get the screw (Bushing ) off. I was scraping the case so it didn,t matter as I just wanted the spare parts. I don,t know af any tool I had to remove it but I could have made one out of steel and grinder etc. If you mess up the grove then it will be even more of a problem getting it out.I,m just wondering why the cam came off the bottom spines? Unless the retainer clip broke or fell off.

 

[TaggingTuna]

Re: LU issue

Probably not without doing damage to it. I had to cut the case to get the screw (Bushing ) off. I was scraping the case so it didn,t matter as I just wanted the spare parts. I don,t know af any tool I had to remove it but I could have made one out of steel and grinder etc. If you mess up the grove then it will be even more of a problem getting it out.I,m just wondering why the cam came off the bottom spines? Unless the retainer clip broke or fell off.

If the retainer clip fell off the shaft would be able to come out.

 

[Maxz695]

Re: LU issue

It is possible the cam may still be there and something eles is bad in there. You stated there is no cam on the lower end spline. I have no idea how it could have come off. Try to fabricate a peice of steel or get the tool to remove the bushing. If you after removing the shaft can see the cam in there try to position it and reassemble. Look closely for a cracked case. There has to be some reason it fell off. Just putting it back on might not even work. It may fall off again.

 

[TaggingTuna]

Re: LU issue

Well, I'm breaking down and taking it to a Pro, he will charge me $90 to diagnose the issue and whatever to fix it. Hopefully it won't be serious and an easy fix. I don't have the special tools and dont want to screw anything up. I'll keep ya'll informed, Thank you for all your help.

 

[aussieflash]

Re: LU issue

You say it pops up and down.By pulling shift shaft up you have unseated it and now needs to be re aligned.Unfortunately gearcase usually needs to be taken apart for this.
Was the shift shaft carrier still in place? pic would help.

 

[TaggingTuna]

Re: LU issue

No need for pics, We got it apart and the case was broken, now I either find a replacement LU or **** can the whole motor. The Power head is in great condition and has great compression in all four. The mech. said he hasn't seen a motor this clean in along time. He said he fails 9 out of 10 motors that he sees (1969-1971 Merc's). So we'll see what the future has in store.