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Shift linkage

andrewmaeyaert

Contributing Member
"hey guys. took the boat out t

"hey guys. took the boat out today, and i have a shifting issue. first of all, if you try and put it in gear, it slips, and grinds, and slips out of gear. if i actually manage to get it to stay in gear, it does not want to come out of gear. if i try and put it into reverse, it slams into gear, but it wont come out. you have to shut it off to get it out. i don't know what the heck is going on. it worked awesome last weekend. what going on? by the way i have a 78 800 omc.

also, this is my first omc 800. i hear you guys telling everyone not to drive these outdrives with the tilt up. i live in the Midwest, and i do alot of "beaching the boat." is it ok to run the engines in gear for short periods of time while "beaching" with the tilt up, or no? thanks in advance for the advise."
 
"My guess, You may be in for a

"My guess, You may be in for a lower unit main 'service'.
However start by roughly checking the cable adjustment:
Shift into neutral. Then move the shift lever from neutral to forward, and neutral to reverse. The angle of travel should be the same in both directions. If not, try to adjust the trunnion on the shift cable at the back.
However I fear that the drive may have to get off and be dismantled.
Any water in gear oil?"
 
[i]wont come out. you have to

wont come out. you have to shut it off to get it out.
Makes me wonder if your 1978 boat has a 1982-1985 lower unit?
The 82-85 lowers require a system called the ESA to help you shift out of gear to neutral.
Your symptom is typical of an inoperative ESA
 
'Your symptom is typical o

'Your symptom is typical of an inoperative ESA'

Or a failing servo assist cylinder. 'Foamy' oil gives the same problem in this system as well as a defective oil pump.
 
"i think it might have a later

"i think it might have a later lower unit, because my lower unit has prop exhaust. what do i do know. there is some water in the oil, but it's not much, and i change it every couple of hours. (don't have the money to redo the seals right now). i have a hard time believing that the lower unit "went out" from sitting on a trailer for a week? what is my next step to diagnosing this problem"
 
"Water in lower unit = Goood B

"Water in lower unit = Goood Bye servo assist!! Might be the reason for the siting problem.
However check the bracket on the inside where shift cables are attached. Do You find any micro switches and electric cables, or is it only shift cable in from remote and out to drive?"
 
"the back bracket has a the ca

"the back bracket has a the cable from the remote to the overdrive. it does have some adjustments, switches on it, but i think they are just there to tell the ignition if it is in gear or not, so it won't start in gear."
 
"Check if those cables goes to

"Check if those cables goes to a 'black box' (ESA),an about 6"x 2" module attached with 2 screws and cables going to the coil and distributor?
Your no 'start in gear' switch is in the remote control."
 
"how much is an esa? how would

"how much is an esa? how would that make it come out of gear? i don't think i have an esa, but i could be wrong. where are the located usually?

assuming i don't have an esa, what should i do next? i am at my wits end with this outdrive. i don't understand. it worked fin all last year, and the first part if this year, and now after sitting on the trailer for a week, my lower unit goes out???? what the heck!"
 
"the ESA Electronic Shift Assi

"the ESA Electronic Shift Assist works is there's a lever that the lower shift cable attaches to and when there's to much tension it moves the lever activating a switch that tells the ESA module to interupt the spark to the engine, this removes power to the prop and the gears/shift mechanism so they will come out of gear like when the boat is out of the water. Does not effect going into gear(shouldn't, if it does theres a problem with the cable or drive.)

Electronics can fail at anytime for no reason at all, ok not true, either faulty production, to much temp swing(hot-cold) etc.."
 
"It would really help the guys

"It would really help the guys if you knew what year this was, is there a model # plate on the drive anywhere?

This pic is the shift bracket asm from an 84 800. See item 75, this is the ESA module, does yours look like this at all?


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"bob: that is what mine looks

"bob: that is what mine looks like

ok guys, update... i "had" to take my boat out yesterday to do some fishing, because no one else's was available. i knew all we could do was putt, but i noticed some things. here they are.

1.) if you move the lever really quickly into forward, it goes into gear with no problems until about 1100-1500 rpm. one above that, 85% of the time it will slip. (when i say slip, it means jump out of, and back into gear really quick.) then if i want to go back into neutral, i have to shut it off, otherwise it will not come out of gear.

2.) if i want to go backwards, it will go right into gear even if i move the shift lever at a slower speed. in other words, i don't have to "slam" it into gear. then it will stay in reverse, and i can give it all the engine has, and nothing happens????? if i want to come out of gear, same thing. i have to shut it off.

things you should know:
1.) there are very minimal amounts of water in the lower, and intermediate housings.

2.) prior to this problem occurring, i had no hint of a mechanical failure. in other words, i put about 5 hours in the boat on weekend. ran fine. then put it on the trailer. a week later i put the boat in the water, and this issue suraface almost IMEDATLY! what gives??"
 
"whats your idle in the water,

"whats your idle in the water, warm motor, in gear?

If you have a hydro-mechanical unit then you can't shift it unless it's running.

To me it really sounds like the dog is almost gone."
 
"my idle is a little high. aro

"my idle is a little high. around 900rpm. i i only have to shut the motor off to come out of gear. i know if the engine is off, and the shifter is in neutral, i can spin the prop. when i put it in gear, i can't spin the prop anymore.

is there a way to test the esa?"
 
500-600 maybe 650 rpm tops fo

500-600 maybe 650 rpm tops for shifting. Understand make it idle like in my first post correctly and try it.

Disconnect the esa module the 2 plugs not just one and try shifting.
 
"ok. i will try that. i would

"ok. i will try that. i would have to guess that even if the high idle is the root of my problem, shifting at that kind of r's probably ate my clutch dog."
 
"Yep, clutch dog. Try first br

"Yep, clutch dog. Try first bringing the rpms down whatever you have to do to make it happen. clean the carb, tune the motor, and time it, but the rpms have to be in the range in my previous post."
 
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