Alpha I Lower Unit install

"Hi Guys. Need a bit of help h

"Hi Guys. Need a bit of help here. Have the LU and the Drive housing on the bench. Replaced the impeller all is well. When I try and meet the two halves with the shift rod in forward and all goes together, I end up in neutral. It has happened several times.
I'm keeping pressure on the prop shaft C Clock Wise as the book sez. When it goes together the shift lever is pointing straight ahead as the book sez, but she's in neutral. I can get neutral and forward manually but no reverse.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Bert"

"I'm assuming you are test

"I'm assuming you are testing with all back on boat, not just on the bench.
Check the front end of lower unit to verify visually that the shift shaft is engaged properly at the connector. It can be seen if you turn your head right and use a flashlight. If not engaged, that is a likely cause.
If it is properly engaged, then it is highly likely you need to adjust the lower shift cable at its forward mounting position."

Thanks David
I haven't ev

Thanks David
I haven't even got it mounted on the boat yet. I'm trying to put the lower unit and the drive unit together on the bench where the literature says it will be "Easier" Are these lower units shift pawls supposed to "snap in" like they do on outboards?

Bert

"Okay, did you rotate the spli

"Okay, did you rotate the splines of the shifter into forward position (hold there with prop rotation) before placing the shift shaft (pointing forward of course) onto the splined section?

It is easy to let this rotate slightly and get bad results. May need a third hand or a bungee cord."

"David
Yep, I have the son in

"David
Yep, I have the son in law helping. I can set the shift rod to forward gear, torque the prop shaft c c wise and then set the pieces together with the shift lever pointing straight the way it's supposed to. When all is together it defaults to neutral with the lever straight ahead. I can move it to forward but it won't stay and I can't get a reverse gear shifting by the shift rod lever?
Bert"

"Somehow in these descriptions

"Somehow in these descriptions, I am not sensing what is not happening properly. On the surface what you say sounds like it should be working. It must be rotating slightly on you, but I can't tell when it is happening. Approximately 90 degrees rotation takes it all the way from forward gear to reverse gear."

Thanks David
That is what is

Thanks David
That is what is happening. Does the shift rod click into an indent for each gear or is it just a freewheel motion and the shift lever and cable setup holds it in place when on the boat. the reason I'm not mounting it yet is that I don't want to go through the whole mounting process and then have to take if off again because I messed up on putting the LU and Drive case together wrong.
Thanks
Bert

"There is no detent to hold ge

"There is no detent to hold gear position - just torque and the friction of the cable system to hold it. Sometimes you feel a gear engaging and sometimes you don't, depending on how fast your helper rotates the prop and how fast you move the shifter.

Is there any chance that the shoe at the connector is so worn it will not hold the foot? Probably not, but it is a possibility that would complicate things.

Rotate the top of the splined shaft rod to secure forward position and hold it firm until the shifter is engaged in its forward position (also hold prop from moving)."

David
Thanks for the info. Th

David
Thanks for the info. That's what I needed to know. Now I can attack this sucker with some gusto.
Regards
Bert