Ok, I'm only a working day or 2 from my son's bday party and I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what I goofed..
I dropped the lower and replaced the impeller prior to getting in the water for the first time this season and all seemed to be going smoothly until I tried to reattach the lower to the upper (which I left on the boat). I kept getting hung up about 1/2" from seating but was careful not to try and force it in. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they wouldn't line up at first, I made sure the shift rod was clock wise and the prop was locked CCW, I tried turning the prop to get the splines lined up but still nothing.. I figured out the problem this morning - turned out that while I meant to put the boat in full forward - I had only put it in full throttle - it had actually been in nuetral the whole time! :facepalm:
I put the shifter at this point in forward gear at this point, the shift "foot thingy" was centered when I was able to reattach the lower to no resistance. I pumped her full of gear oil, put her in the water and took a few laps around the lake and all seemed well until I tried shifting into reverse: As soon as I tried to shift into reverse I heard a slight grind and then the engine cut out. It only took a few minutes of trying to restarting to realize the neutral safety switch was engaged preventing it from restarting. I then checked the prop to see how the shift cable adjustment was - I found that turning CW in forward was rougher than it should be - and the prop wouldn't fully lock CW in reverse. I adjusted the cable until both gears locked exactly the way they should (full CCW lock in forward, full CW lock in reverse - with an even amount for both gears when "clicked" in the opposite directions. I thought this would be a simple fix but alas - despite feeling confident that the cable has been adjusted properly I'm still getting the same "grind" in reverse. I've heard this 3 times now, never for more than a second or 2, hopefully nothing is too damaged.
Any suggestions/insights are appreciated..
I dropped the lower and replaced the impeller prior to getting in the water for the first time this season and all seemed to be going smoothly until I tried to reattach the lower to the upper (which I left on the boat). I kept getting hung up about 1/2" from seating but was careful not to try and force it in. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they wouldn't line up at first, I made sure the shift rod was clock wise and the prop was locked CCW, I tried turning the prop to get the splines lined up but still nothing.. I figured out the problem this morning - turned out that while I meant to put the boat in full forward - I had only put it in full throttle - it had actually been in nuetral the whole time! :facepalm:
I put the shifter at this point in forward gear at this point, the shift "foot thingy" was centered when I was able to reattach the lower to no resistance. I pumped her full of gear oil, put her in the water and took a few laps around the lake and all seemed well until I tried shifting into reverse: As soon as I tried to shift into reverse I heard a slight grind and then the engine cut out. It only took a few minutes of trying to restarting to realize the neutral safety switch was engaged preventing it from restarting. I then checked the prop to see how the shift cable adjustment was - I found that turning CW in forward was rougher than it should be - and the prop wouldn't fully lock CW in reverse. I adjusted the cable until both gears locked exactly the way they should (full CCW lock in forward, full CW lock in reverse - with an even amount for both gears when "clicked" in the opposite directions. I thought this would be a simple fix but alas - despite feeling confident that the cable has been adjusted properly I'm still getting the same "grind" in reverse. I've heard this 3 times now, never for more than a second or 2, hopefully nothing is too damaged.
Any suggestions/insights are appreciated..
