Mercruiser Alpha One Shift Shaft not mating properly

[Marc Peternell]

Hi Everyone,
Mercruiser Alpha One (gen 1). I am in the process of replacing my outdrive with a used one. I took the used outdrive apart and replaced the impeller while I had it off of the boat (so I did split the drive in half).

I installed the outdrive and now the Upper Shift Shaft and Intermediate Shift Shaft are not mating up. They do fit together, but the lever end (male end?) can drop down out of the u-shaped housing (call it the female end).

Here is my question... is the u-shaped part (female end) supposed to clamp around the lever to hold it in place and keep it from dropping down? Or, is there supposed to be something internal inside of the drive that holds the lever up into the female end?

I do want to preface this with 2 things. 1. I believe the old drive came off with the boat in neutral, so it may have spread the u-shaped female end apart, whereas I may need to bend it in a little tighter. and 2. I did find this washer on the ground after all was put back together, but it could be unrelated and came out of my toolbox.

I will attach a photo too.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Don't bother, the SS washer goes on the lower splined shaft to stop the upper shoe from disconnecting

 

[Bt Doctur]

~~Don't bother, the SS washer goes on the lower splined shaft to stop the upper shoe from disconnecting

 

[Marc Peternell]

That is what I thought. If the washer did come from the inside, it isn't to hold it up, it is to stop it from coming out.

 

[Marc Peternell]

That is what I thought. If the washer did come from the inside, it isn't to hold it up, it is to stop it from coming out. My problem is it needs to be held up.. I am trying to post a photo.

 

[Bt Doctur]

The washer prevents the lower shoe from dropping out of engaugement with the upper shift shoe

 

[Bt Doctur]

The washer prevents the lower shoe from dropping out of engaugement with the upper shift shoe

 

[Marc Peternell]

That could be my washer. Looks like I'll be splitting it in half again. Thank you!

 

[Marc Peternell]

Bt Doctur - thank you again for your response and diagram. That was definitely the problem. I really appreciate your help. By the way, I didn't mean to double post...Iboats did that some how when I was trying to do my original post. I'm still trying to get used to the new system.