merc 500 shift shaft trouble,now I lost my reverse.

[rolmops]

After completely rebuilding this 1967 engine to the point where all that was left to do was reattach the lower unit.While doing that, I got in deep trouble.Being used to Johnnyrudes I just was not really careful with the shifting part and of course the rod and shaft parts did not slide smoothly together.Now it seems to me that the female part coming down from the housing is too short and after 20 tries working on it almost till dawn it dawned on me that I need some good advice.<br />Is there a way to "stretch" the shift rod coming from the housing?<br />Can I take a hammer and dowel and tap the female opening a bit wider? or is that a no no?<br />How can I direct the female part so the male part will slide in?<br />In what position do I turn the lower unit so that after having made the right connection it will work,I do have it in forward, but there is a 200 degree turn on the shaft and I need to know whether to turn it all the way clockwise,counterclockwise or somewhere in between?<br />I know this post sounds a bit Freudian ,but it is not meant to be so.

 

[emckelvy]

Re: merc 500 shift shaft trouble,now I lost my reverse.

Sometimes the upper shift rod gets pushed up; make sure it's pushed all the way down and seated fully in the bushing and the adapter plate. It'll be obvious when you look at the shift arm, underneath the bottom carb.<br /><br />Don't pound on anything or you'll ruin the internal splines in the shift rod and never get it together.<br /><br />Best way for the novice to align the parts is to shift the lower unit to neutral. Move the shift shaft CCW until it clicks into neutral. Move the control box lever to neutral.<br /><br />You will of course have to turn the flywheel clockwise to engage the driveshaft into the crankshaft splines when inserting the lower unit.<br /><br />If you still have trouble aligning the shift shaft, sometimes it helps to disconnect the shift cable and 'jiggle' the shift arm back and forth a bit. Sometimes there's a bit of 'preload' on the shifter with the shift cable connected, and this can interfere with the perfect alignment of the upper and lower shift rods.<br /><br />HTH.............ed

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: merc 500 shift shaft trouble,now I lost my reverse.

ditto on using F/W to line up and don't force it!<br />know from experience...<br />good post ed,<br />M.Y.

 

[rolmops]

Re: merc 500 shift shaft trouble,now I lost my reverse.

Thank you guys very much for putting me on the right track.One more question.When I push the shaft down,just under the carburators it pops right back up as if it is spring loaded.Is there a spring or can I just loosen things up a bit and that takes care of it?<br />Thanks again!

 

[rolmops]

Re: merc 500 shift shaft trouble,now I lost my reverse.

So far almost great.I did see a few things that were invisible past midnight and this time it did come together.Only one problem.When I put it together, there was forward,neutral and reverse.But when I started the engine there was no more reverse.How do I solve that problem?

 

[rolmops]

Re: merc 500 shift shaft trouble,now I lost my reverse.

never mind,fixed that one too.<br />One last question.Do these engines have a telltale<br />hose squirting water when they run??

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: merc 500 shift shaft trouble,now I lost my reverse.

Hi Rolmops,<br /> If it has a telltale (which I am pretty sure it does - my '66s had them) it would be obvious with a hose running from the base of the exhaust cover around to the other side and out the rear base of the belly pan. Because the pickup in the exhaust cover is at the base of the cover, it often collects sediment and is easily clogged. I usually try to blow back through with compressed air to clear things up. Might have to do it a few times to completely flush it...<br />- Scott