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alpha 1 shift question really need some help

J

Joeymcgovs

Member
hello all, i have a 1982 sea ray srv197. love this thing, anyways she started shifting funny. when shifting forward or reverse she gears past the detent in the control box. basically gears right when throttle advances and i have to pull the throttle back to stop from lurching forward or back. so i pulled the boat out of the water, i did the 6" adjustment on the lower cable, and re adjusted the upper shift as per achris on youtube. now when i shift to forward she gears at the 10 oclock detent on the control box, prop locked ccw, when i shift back to neutral prop spins freely, when i shift to reverse prop does not lock clockwise, now it chatters. again these tests are being performed on the trailer. if i take the lower shift cable off i can get the drive to lock in forward or reverse no problem. when all is connected, i cant get the prop to lock in reverse. i moved the lower shift cable in the slot and still nothing. with the drive assembled if i shift to reverse i can get under the outdrive and push the shift fork where the upper and lower mate and i can get the prop to lock in reverse if i push that fork just another 1/8 inch.

does this sound like my lower cable? or shift spool? the shift cable is 4-5 years old, however it was already in the furthest spot in the slot... not sure where to go from here, please help! any will be much appreicated.

i am also including a pic to show where my shift fork is when in drive, i know it should be pointing at 12 oclock, but its more like 11:55

thanks -joe
 
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No pic, but on fwd with prop locked shift shoe is in a straight line.
pull the drive and inspect the cable end, there should be zero play,should turn on the inner cable freely. Now push and pull on the end, should be no play.
Now go to the shift shoe on the drive . looking down from the top of the drive ,12:00 is full fwd, any thing 12:00 toward 1:00 is a bad shift spool.
THere is a procedure in the manual to test for it
 
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thank you so much for your response, i will pull the upper off today in a couple hours and report back, however, with the upper and lower together if i shift into forward the shift fork is at a little before 12 oclock, like 11:55 i dont know why i cant post the pic
 
either the brass shoe is loose on the splined shaft ,or the splined shaft is loose in the upper shoe , or the shift spool is worn
 
vid 1 is one problem ,the upper shoe or the splined shaft is worn
vid 2 is incorrect. You turn the splined shaft fully clockwise while turning the prop counter clockwise for full forward, turn is CC a bit for neutral, more CC for rev
vid 3 the slide is a bit loose. remove the safety wire, use some heat, use the correct allen and remove the set screw. From inside the boat disconnect the inner core by loosening the 2 small square head screws. pull the black plastic slide off and not loose the piece with the square nuts.
Pull the slide and cable out.
Remove the cable core by sliding out the back of the slide. There you will find "gotchas" inside the slide. Clean with a drill bit of the proper size carefully.
 
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ok if the shoe and possibly the splined shaft are worn is it a nightmare to replace these parts? so youre saying to remove the slide, and the core cable, then what? do i just need a new cable and should order the kit?
 
No, once you remove the side and core .remove the safety wire, remove the setscrew, remove the inner core and clean the junk from inside the slide with a drill bit .
Then reinsert the core, install setscrew, tighten so it just can spin on the core, safety wire it in place with a figure 8, install slide, reattach inside the boat, have a helper hold the slide
 
ok i can do that... there was a ton of grease all over the slide and where the slide sits, should the slide be greased? also what about the upper shoe and the splined shaft? should these be repalced if they are worn?
 
ok i am going to get a new splined shaft for the lower, as well as a new lower shift cable as mine has got to be stretched, and ill also get a new upper shoe for the upper. Where is the shift spool? thank you so much for your replies, trying to get boat back in water by the weekend
 
shift spool in in the lower unit. shoe in the upper is usually held by a cotter pin and washer.
To remove the shift rod,buy or make the tool to unscrew the shift shaft bushing. When unscrewing it completely and before lifting it out hold your finger on top ,pushing down while sliding off the bushing. VERY CAREFULLY, without jiggling,jarring the drive lift the rod out , swap over the components to the new shaft, and install.
 
ok i can do the upper shoe, and the shift rod, but what if the shoft spool is worn? would it be a waste of time to replace the upper shoe and shift rod if i dont do the shift spool?
 
Dont really need it . do the procedure to see how much play there is . there should be very little rotation of the shaft.install the upper shoe and shaft then check to see is fwd is exactly at 1200. Shoe must not go further. anything past 1200 is a bad spool and/or crank
 
so i decided to mess around with the outdrive since im waiting on parts... i put the drive back on the boat, and with adjusting the lower shift cable in the slot, i can get reverse, but then forward ratchets, move it in the slot the other direction a little bit and ill get forward back but then reverse ratchets... going to mess around some more this afternoon and ill report back
 
I agree, a loose/worn shift spool, the upper shoe cannot go past 1200. When is does all your adjusting will give you F or R but not both
 
Bt Doctur said:
I agree, a loose/worn shift spool, the upper shoe cannot go past 1200. When is does all your adjusting will give you F or R but not both
Click to expand...

thank you bt Doctur, do you concur that the ammount of throw this has that just a new intermediate shift shaft and splined lower shift shaft wont correct the problem?
 
If the lower unit is original 1982 it is possible the shift spool is the bronze design.
They changed it to steel for your very issue.

If you take it apart and it is bronze upgrade to the steel one and also replace the u shaped shift arm that fits into the shift spool
 
kghost, thank you, i do know the engine is original, i believe the boat originally came with an MR drive, and now has an alpha 1 gen 1, however when i purchased this boat august 2018, the original owner gave me a receipt showing the entire outdrive was rebuilt upper and lower... not sure what the rebuild entailed but didnt think it would burn up in 4 years
 
It only makes sense to replace what is worn.

You are asking for answers for the unkown at this point.

By the way, a rebuild does not mean a lot.
It could have been seals, seals and gears, and if the shift spool was steel they
Wouldnt have replaced it.

at this point there are to many unknowns.

If you want to at least start at a base line.
Replace short cable as that is a common wear item.
Confirm shift arm with small wheel, that whe wheel is 100% or replace.
Make sure the gimbal housing vertical shaft at very bottom where the bronzr shift arm you are moving fits and make shure that U it tight to the bronze shift arm.

There is no difference between a MR and and alpha other than lower unit vertical drive shaft. MR had an O ring groove, Alpha does not

All othet parts are the same except the shigt spool.
In the original aplha manuals is t shows how to adjust the spool.
But since the use of the steel spool it rarely needs to be touched.


The only way to tell is dissassembly..
 
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