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Alpha drive wonbt come out of reverse

N

notevipr

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"Took my, new to me, 1984 Sea

"Took my, new to me, 1984 Sea Ray with a 120 mercruiser out for its first ride and all went well until I put her into reverse, to slow it down at the dock. When I tried to get it to go forward after backing the van down she wouldn't go into forward. The control handle would go forward, it just wouldn't go into gear. In fact, even when put in forward, she continued to go backward. What fun getting it back on the trailer with a broadside wind. Any help would be greatly appreciated."
 
Cable head come off in the shi

Cable head come off in the shifter? Broken cable? Check and see if it will shift when pulling on the cable.
 
Sounds like a loose shift cabl

Sounds like a loose shift cable. Look at the cable attachments at both ends especially at the shift control and check for split cable. Water tends to leak down the shift cable and rot it out.
 
"Wow! What a great site! Pos

"Wow! What a great site! Posted last night and had two answers already. Luckily it's 43 today and I checked the cables. The throttle seems to work fine and when I shift into reverse the two control cables lengthen and the prop won't turn to the right when facing forward. When I put it in forward the cables shorten but the prop still turns to the left. I pushed the cable itself a little harder and the prop stopped turning to the left, so I'm assuming that it's in gear then. So am I right in assuming that I need to adjust the cable going to the drive and that will solve my problem? Please advise, and thanks for your help."
 
Tried twice to download the ma

Tried twice to download the manual but it was corrupted somehow. I have the Seloc manual already. I need to know if you think that it is a cable adjustment problem and is it the one on the side of the engine going to the OD that needs adjustment. Also I was wondering why it would still run in reverse when I had it in forward when I was test driving it? ; Thanks again for your help.
 
If it's stuck in reverse a

If it's stuck in reverse and/or a cable is maladjusted; putting the shift lever in forward just means the shift lever works.

The lock may have slipped lose on the one cable. Will it move in the other direction manually?
 
"Please reread my post # 2. W

"Please reread my post # 2. When I pushed the cable a little harder it only moved about one eight of and inch to engage the foward gear. I rechecked it again and found that when I pulled it from reverse to forward it went into neutral from reverse and when pushed a little farther ot the cable it went into forward. So, do I need to adjust the cable going to the OD or the one coming from the control box? Also, could it be that that with the engine running it could have held the gear in reverse? Cables seem to be movng ok. Thanks again!"
 
Cable head come off in the shi

Cable head come off in the shifter? Remove the assy. from the side panel and open the cover plate on the back side to see if the cable end is disconnected from the cam.
 
"The control seems to be worki

"The control seems to be working fine. I think that what I need to do is adjust the shift cable. Which is the best to adjust? The one from the control or the one to the OD? If I lenghten it so it will go, it will be less than an eight of an inch. It I do that then it may not go into reverse. Is there a way to get by this? Thank you"
 
"Bob;
See page 2A-22 in the m

"Bob;
See page 2A-22 in the manual if you get it downloaded. It deals with shifting problems.

Here is an easy check you can do:
Disconnect the upper shift cable eye end (and shift assist, if equipped) from the upper end of the vertical shift arm, on the shift bracket located on the engine. Remove the cotter pin and slide out the shoulder pin. Make careful note of how the parts were connected, and don't lose/drop any of the small parts. Been there, done that!
Taking digital pictures helps.

Now with the upper cable removed, try moving the vertical shift arm manually so that it pushes and pulls the lower shift cable fully all the way aft (FWD gear) and then forward (REV gear). Total movement of the cable should be about 2 inches.

If FWD is fully engaged the prop should lock solid when turned CCW from the rear. Likewise in REV is should lock solid when turned CW from the rear. If one or the other is not fully engaging, the cable is not traveling far enough.

When you move the shift arm manually as above, it should move SMOOTHLY with no binding from full forward to fully aft. If sticky or stiff or binding, the lower shift cable likely needs replacing, or there is binding in the shift slider, or shift shaft mechanism in the drive leg.

There is a specific procedure for cable adjustment, but if it worked correctly at some point, and does not now, adjustment is not likely the issue. Adjustment is indicated if shifting into either gear creates excessive noise, or it shifts out of gear unexpectedly. The point is that cable adjustment just for the fun of it is not advisable, and can really screw things up.

Hope that helps,
Rod"
 
"Ayuh,.......

9 times out o

"Ayuh,.......

9 times out of 10,....
When a Lower Shift Cable needs Adjustment,.....
It's telling you what it Really Needs is Replacement......

Those Factory Shop Maunals are massive files,...
The link posted by Guy works perfectly for me,... It's a 18.+mb file..... On dial up it'll take a few minutes.....
Btw,........
That Seloc manual belongs in the local Restroom,.....
Other than it's Paper,.... It's about Useless......."
 
"Thanks for all the input. Th

"Thanks for all the input. The cables and control seem to be ok. Today I adjusted the cable adj nut forward a few turns on the cable coming from the control,and it will go into forward and reverse with a little jiggling of the prop. Any farther forward and it wouldn't go into rev at all, and any farther back and the same for forward. Hopefully it's at a happy medium that I'll test on the water if I get a chance before it turns to ice. If anyone has any more advice I'm still open for suggestions. Thanks to all who gave their time and knowledge."
 
"it will go into forward a

"it will go into forward and reverse with a little jiggling of the prop"

Bob...
These guys know what they're talking about. Listen to what they're telling you. "jiggling the prop" seems like it might be difficult to do when you're coming into the dock and have to put it into reverse to straighten her out.
Just thinking out loud
Wrench
 
"Bob;
If you need a little mo

"Bob;
If you need a little more stroke on the lower cable travel, so as to fully engage both gears, you can move the cable eye mounting stud upwards a little in the vertical shift arm.

You will notice if you look carefully at it that the stud is mounted in a vertical slot about 1/2" long. Moving it upwards in the slot effectively gives you more lower shift cable travel for the same upper cable travel.

Having said this, if you are already at the top of the slot, you are out of adjustment range and there is not much more you can do, short of filing the slot a little longer. I have never had to resort to this, but I know some have done it.

If your lower cable is binding or stiff you will likely notice the shift interrupt switch may cut the engine out sometimes when you are shifting INTO either gear. That is another sure sign of imminent lower shift cable blues.

Rod"
 
"Thanks to everyone! I'd r

"Thanks to everyone! I'd read somewhere about the slot in the arm but didn't see it until you mentioned it, Rod. Raising the stud helped, but I filed it about 1/32" higher, and she seems to be working ok now. As Wrench said, jiggling the prop on the water would be kind of a pain. May have to wait till I get to Florida to test as the temps are dropping today. Thanks again!"
 
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