Shift problem

"I've got a shift problem.

"I've got a shift problem. 4.3L Alpha I, 1989. My shifting was working perfect, until about 2 years ago, I was in the hospital for months and let a Merc certified mechanic work on my boat. He was to replace the shift bellows (and all bellows at the time). He said that my boat was old and all the cables should be replaced. They have never worked as smooth and flawless as they did before.

Problems were: stalling when shifting into neutral and reverse. I've not used the boat 50 hours since the cable replacement. When I looked at the stalling problem the shift switch had been cut and wires were soldered and taped. It looked a mess, and I could see that the switch was the problem as the engine was killed on movement of the shift handle. I replaced the switch, and spent a long time adjusting and aligning the cable linkage to get it to work OK. After about 25 hours the same problem was back. Can't shift into reverse, and sometimes stalls on entering neutral from forward (all with engine warmed and running.

I spent yesterday, realigning the shift switch/cable adjustments. I've been using a shop manual for the Alpha I, as to procedure. I now suspect the shift cable to the lower unit maybe failing or improperly installed.

Any and all thoughts on adjusting the cables and checking the lower shift cable greatly appreciated. Is there a wear problem with the castle nut (hardening) on the 85-89 Alpha I?

Thanks ChautauquaBear"

"Remove the end of the shift c

"Remove the end of the shift cable and move it in the sheath. If it's really hard to move, it could be binding or kinked where it bends below the motor. Look behind the motor from the port side and you should be bale to see the cable as it bends down were it comes through the transom. Since the whole cable needs to come out for shift cable bellows replacement, it seems entirely possible that the adjustment is way off. The other guy may have started fiddling with the other cables when he tried to get it to work.

What castle nut are you referring to?"

"Thanks for the reply. I did

"Thanks for the reply. I did find the shift cable to be smooth, to operate manually. but thought there might be end play that the gear was not sliding into reverse contact.

The castle nut is (shaped like a castle) and is in the shift spool assembly in the lower unit. If worn there becomes to-much play to let the reverse gear slide on to the lower output gear.

Do you have a good method to adjust both the shift control cable (goes from the swith to the lower unit) and the control cable( goes from the shift/control lever to the switch plate)?

thanks

ChautauquaBear"

"I doubt that the castle nut w

"I doubt that the castle nut would ever wear to that degree. The shift spool or crank might, but the nut really won't wear much. You're going by the diagrams and haven't disasembled it, right? Also, the reverse gear is on the bearing carrier and it's the clutch dog that slides on the shaft to engage the forward/reverse gears.

Since the shift cable is the only one affected by the bellows replacement, none of the others should have been touched yesterday. If it didn't work well immediately aftergetting out of the hospital, I would have taken it back so he could get it right but I guess it's too late for that now.

IIRC, section 2 or 4 has info on adjusting the shift/throttle cables. The brass barrel shaped piexe on the shift cable is what you use to go +/- relative to the correct adjustment point. If the knob on the upper gear case shift lever wasn't lubricated over the years, that could wear, too.

Was the shift switch messed up that way before you had the Merc tech work on it?"

"I don't know about about

"I don't know about about the switch being messed before. I usually do my own work and take my time and get it right. I never worked on the switch on this boat and I bought it new 16 years ago. I've worked on my other boats (OMC) same functions with the micro switches, but not the same structure.

Since all four points on the switch plate/lever are adjustable, I need a starting point. what is the proper spacing between the two fittings on the shift control cable. I mean the top side of the cable that goes into the lower unit from the switch. at the place where the swicth is mounted, in the boat, not the lower unit?

thanks for the help.
ChautauquaBear"

"If you can see the outline of

"If you can see the outline of the assembly from the original settings on the plate, that would be my first choice.

This would be easier to explain if I had a boat with the same mechanism here to look at, but I don't. If, by proper spacing of the fittings, you mean from the hole on the end of the shift cable to the brass adjuster, I believe it should be at 6". With no cables in place, get the assembly to the point where everything is in their own run detent, in neutral, then tighten them so you can test the shift cutout manually.

Since you have had the boat for 16 years and didn't remember cutting the wires, it sure sounds like the "certified" mechanic did it. I would re-splice the wires with solder and heat shrink tubing, preferably the kind that oozes glue when it gets hot. This kind seals out any moisture and lasts a lot longer."