What is a normal shift sound on the out drives Like a little gear grind

I have an 87 omc cobra out dri

I have an 87 omc cobra out drive and i would like to know what is normal? Like is it normal for it to grind a little or none at all. If it grinds how much? Thanks

"Just went thorough this last

"Just went thorough this last week with 1988 OMC 250 HP with Cobra outdrive. There is a slight grinding when shifting from neutral to forward or reverse. However, there is a shifting cut-off micro switch located at the shift bracket on the engine. This switch temporarily kills power to the electric coil to allow gears to engage. There's a notch on shift holding plate mounted on top of engine block for this switch to be set. Make sure this switch is working properly as shift alignments are a "bear" for these outdrives. Also make sure your RPMs are around 1200 in netral position. If too high engine RPM will really grind your gears. Adjust throttle to allow only about 1200 RPM. If stalls, you may need to add carburator cleaner and then set to 1200 RPM. I hope this helps as this is just basics here and more detail and information is available."

"Ross...don't take this th

"Ross...don't take this the wrong way but your RPM's at 1200 are way too high. For the Cobra to shift nicely even when the ESA is working should be done around 600-650. Higher than that and you are just asking for lower unit problems as it will "clunk" big time going into gear. Another common problem some folks have is shifting too slowly, when shifting into gear it should be done swiftly and decisively so the clutch dogs don't drag."

What is this ESA you are talki

What is this ESA you are talking about? And how do i know if it is working? Thanks I guess i need to pull my outdrive back out and readjust the shift cable. I think i turned it to many times. It is realy stiff shifting in gear now. OOPS!

"The ESA (Electronic Shift

"The ESA (Electronic Shift Assist) is a module that is activated by the interrupt switch. Primarily used for coming out of gear. When in gear the gears are cut such that they basically lock together and it can be very hard to pull them apart when under load. The ESA pulses the negative side of the coil so that your RPM's drop which then takes the load off the gears and makes it much easier to shift into neutral. A quick and dirty test of the module is to be running at idle in neutral and then lift up on the interrupt switch (the one that sits in the v shaped notch and has an arm with a roller on it) The ESA should activate and your RPM's if running around 600 should drop to around 400 and then resume normal as soon as you let go of the switch. See the pic below, the interrupt switch is the one with the arm and roller sitting in the notch.

"

"Oh sweet! Ok i see i will try

"Oh sweet! Ok i see i will try this and see. Thanks again!
We need more pic of stuff like this on here! "

"BTW - my 90 3.0L does not hav

"BTW - my 90 3.0L does not have a overstroke switch for reverse. the slot is there (just like the above picture), but no cam.

Anyone know why they took it off? I started with the "non-timeout" ESA, so that can't be it."

"Chris...the overstroke switch

"Chris...the overstroke switch is not just for reverse. In the above pic it's in neutral and you can see the overstroke switch activation point is right between the 2 cams. When you shift into either gear the cam hits the switch at then end of the shift stroke, once the switch is activated it effectively kills the ESA circuit so that it can't activate while in gear. Even if someon had replace the ESA with the newer timer style you are supposed to leave the switch in to help do the cam adjustment but the wires are not attached anymore. There is no reason for you to be missing the cam unless someone has removed it or it came loose and fell off?"

"yea, it's weird. It defi

"yea, it's weird. It definitely was never installed. It's not on the IPB, it's not in the bilge (i'm anal about stuff like that) and there are no marks on the the paint where it would have been installed. Had it been there from the factory, i would have seen something on the factory paint - nothing."

"i just checked a few IPBs &#4

"i just checked a few IPBs (doug russell and BRP). the reverse overstroke cam is there in the 1989 model, but disappears in 1990 for the 3.0L. In 1989, the part number is the same for both forward and reverse, so I guess I could just buy one and install it. That said, I went 16 years with absolutely no problems."

I just found mine and it had t

I just found mine and it had to be bent back to the cam so it will work again! hahahaha this used boat i just bought is teaching me alot about boats.

"Hi,
I have a 1989 2688 WA Re

"Hi,
I have a 1989 2688 WA Renken with a OMC King Cobra 5.7
When i purchased it last year, The boat was a mess. The current owner had the engine rebuilt.
The engines runs great.The first time i took her out after two test runs the engine coupler had striped, pulled her out and pulled the engine, installed a new coupler.installed new gimbal bearing,bellows and so forth, By the OMC sterndive manual. I also found that the esa was disconected and had to re wire the complete wire harness. Installed a new cdi module, pertronics unite, CDI resister before the coil, Ajusted all the shift linkage per the OMC manual and got the engine to run at stated rpm in manual and shift very well.All was working great untill last week.
I was fishing a tournament and lachted on to a Lobster pot line, pulled it up, pulled it a little with the boat in reverse, pulled it up again and broke it loose. Since then when i go from reverse to forward, get on the throttle, as she is coming up in RPM she will make a thump noise for only a second and then be fine, Almost sounding like im hitting a little log with the outdrive and then its fine. The only thing i noticed is since i put her in the water before the pot pulling is,I'm not getting the rpm at max throttle i should be. she will only run 4200 max. The boat should wieght about 4600 pounds dry and she currently has a 15x13 prop.GPS top speed is reading 22knts
Could the noise be the prop is spun and there is a slap in the hub of the prop?
Is something starting to happen with my upper or lower case,gears ect?
Does any have a sugestion on a posible size prop
I should be running?
Any sugestions would be helpfull, My last vessel wasa twin inboard, Not used to this fish.
Thank You, RC"

"mine is a short "clunk.&#

"mine is a short "clunk." I push the throttle forward with some authority - I don't ease it into gear. If you do that, you'll hear chatter as the gears start to engage.

When my cables needed adjustment, I did get that gear chatter when I went into forward. It went away when I adjusted to spec."

"Hi Chris,
This is after she

"Hi Chris,
This is after she is ingaged and I am aplying the throttle, She will make like a Bump noise.
I did have someone look at the out drive when we were pulling away from a fishing spot and he said, When it made the bump noise, the outdrive
did shake for a second and then was fine. Then i ran 4200 all the way in, And she did not mis a beat. I am going down to the boat this morning and am going to check the adjustment again. Also am going to pull the prop after takeing her for a ride. I will leave another post tonight.
Thank You, RC"

"I have been reading a lot of

"I have been reading a lot of helpful information in these forms,so I would like to thank all who participate.I have an OMC Cobra 3L and have recently replaced the shift cable (had old black one).Shifter has always been stiff and hard to shift.I have replaced and adjusted the cable and believe I have it right but noticed the gears grind a fair bit when shifting.
I tried to activate the ESA while in neutral and there was no change in engine idle (idle has always been little rough) Is ESA not working or stuck on? Can I test interupter? or could it be the distributor?

Thanks"

"I think I had that same '

"I think I had that same 'bump'(mostly at lower RPMs.) The noise was very solid and seemed to come from below the boat. (1988 5.7 OMC/Cobra)

The Bearing carrier in the upper housing cracked all the way around at the lip and a tooth and a half were missing on the Upper pinion bearing.

Hard to say which caused the other.

The noise came from the fragments swirling around in the oil.

Replaced cup and gears, no more noise, no more money.

A quick way to check for this might be by going fishing for bits of gear with a magnetic tool retriever in the oil, or run your fingers on the gears and feel for wear when the boat's out of the water."