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Hard to "find" neutral.

H

hingeman

New member
1999 Bayliner Capri 2050 with an Alpha 1 gen. 2 and a 5.0 merc cruiser. It shifts into forward completely and reverse completely but when I'm approaching a dock or the boat trailer, it's hard to find neutral. It seems like I have to go a little past neutral from forward to get it to go into neutral. It gets a little scary when I don't know if I'm neutral or not! Is this a cable adjustment or maybe the shift interrupter switch? Thanks Scott
 
Bad cable, poor adjustment, or the linkage in your controls are sloppy and worn out. I had a bad shift cable that I replaced this summer. I followed the Mercruiser instructions to a T adjusting the new cable and it didn't shift properly. I had to make a lot of trial and error adjustments until I could get it to shift but still found it that neutral was a little iffy to find.

This winter I'm going to shop for deals on a new 4000 control unit and replace mine. This will require new cables as well since the ends are different.

KJ
 
Trim out drive up 2 inches from all the way down.
Take keys out of ignition!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a second person stand at the prop.
You, remove the short shift cable from the shift bracket.
After the cable has been removed, push the plastic cable end all the way in and hold in place while prop is being spun C’Clockwise..
Have second person rotate prop counter clock wise until the prop is fully engaged and wont turn anymore. Maintain light effort on shift cable plastic end pushing it to keep forward engaged.

Measure the distance from the center of the brass trunnion to the center of the round mounting hole in the plastic end. Adjust trunnion to make that distance 6 inches. No more no less! In cases where the shift cable is old but still works well you can adjust this dimension to 5 15/16”. NO MORE.

Put shift control handle in forward FULL throttle position.
Remove the control shift cable from shift bracket at this time.

Install short shift cable back onto bracket at this time.

My procedure that has worked for me for almost 30 years

Take the shift control cable and adjust the trunnion so it fits perfectly back into the shift bracket.
Before installing it, turn the brass trunnion 4 complete turns away from the plastic end and reinstall into shift bracket.

Now put shift control handle in the neutral position.
Have second person spin prop, it should spin freely.
Put shift control into the forward detent position at ~ 10:00 position. NO FUTHER.
Have the second person rotate the prop counter clockwise. You should have solid engagement with no ability to continue to turn the prop.

Now shift back into neutral. Prop should spin freely with no clacking or clunking.

Now shift to reverse to the 2:00 o’clock position detent NO FURTHER!!

Have the second person spin the prop clockwise.

If you have positive engagement with no clunking or jumping out of engagement, you are done.

If it does not fully engage into reverse than look at the shift bracket where the short shift cable mounts and there is a slot. Loosen the 7/16 hex that is touching the bracket and move the stud so you are pulling the short cable.

Try this and retest in water under load.

There are tests that would tell you if the cable is stretched/worn out.

Shift control cable measurement test.

If you remove the shift control cable from the shift bracket at engine, shift the control handle to full forward/wide open throttle and make a mark on the cable core where plastic end stops Now go full reverse and repeat making mark with black marker on core where plastic end stops. Measure distance between marks, (2 7/8" to 3 1/8") anymore and replace the control cable.

Short cable measurement test.

Remove short cable from shift bracket, push all the way in and spin prop by hand CCW until full forward is made. Make a mark on shift cable core where the plastic stops over the metal.
Now with someone holding the prop to keep it from spinning pull the cable end out with two fingers, as soon as resistance is felt mark the inner cable where the plastic cable end ends. Now measure between the marks,
The measurement should be if I remember correctly 1/2 " to 9/16". Any greater than 9/16 then either the cable or linkage at gimbal housing or shift spool in lower unit is bad.


Remember, if the shift interrupter switch is not functioning no cable replacement or adjustment will allow the shift to get OUT of gear easily.

So to test interrupter switch simply start engine and depress switch and engine should stall. If not it is a bad switch or bad wire connections…
 
With any Dog Clutch drive, a shift into gear, or more importantly from gear back into neutral, must be made with conviction.
In other words, make the shift quickly and concisely without hesitation.

The shift cable’s outer jacket’s resistance is what operates the linkage that in turn activates the SI, SA or ESA.

A slow shift will typically cause what you describe!


That said..... this is to not foo foo the importance of adjusting the lower shift cable. But please understand that even with a correctly adjusted cable and SI, SA or ESA, we must still make the shift as per the above!
It’s simply the nature of a Dog Clutch gear engagement system!



.
 
Last edited:
kevinj said:
Bad cable, poor adjustment, or the linkage in your controls are sloppy and worn out. I had a bad shift cable that I replaced this summer. I followed the Mercruiser instructions to a T adjusting the new cable and it didn't shift properly. I had to make a lot of trial and error adjustments until I could get it to shift but still found it that neutral was a little iffy to find.

This winter I'm going to shop for deals on a new 4000 control unit and replace mine. This will require new cables as well since the ends are different.

KJ
Click to expand...
thanks Kevin for the response. This boat only has 55 hours on it. I hope it’s just an adjustment. Scott
 
kghost said:
Trim out drive up 2 inches from all the way down.
Take keys out of ignition!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a second person stand at the prop.
You, remove the short shift cable from the shift bracket.
After the cable has been removed, push the plastic cable end all the way in and hold in place while prop is being spun C’Clockwise..
Have second person rotate prop counter clock wise until the prop is fully engaged and wont turn anymore. Maintain light effort on shift cable plastic end pushing it to keep forward engaged.

Measure the distance from the center of the brass trunnion to the center of the round mounting hole in the plastic end. Adjust trunnion to make that distance 6 inches. No more no less! In cases where the shift cable is old but still works well you can adjust this dimension to 5 15/16”. NO MORE.

Put shift control handle in forward FULL throttle position.
Remove the control shift cable from shift bracket at this time.

Install short shift cable back onto bracket at this time.

My procedure that has worked for me for almost 30 years

Take the shift control cable and adjust the trunnion so it fits perfectly back into the shift bracket.
Before installing it, turn the brass trunnion 4 complete turns away from the plastic end and reinstall into shift bracket.

Now put shift control handle in the neutral position.
Have second person spin prop, it should spin freely.
Put shift control into the forward detent position at ~ 10:00 position. NO FUTHER.
Have the second person rotate the prop counter clockwise. You should have solid engagement with no ability to continue to turn the prop.

Now shift back into neutral. Prop should spin freely with no clacking or clunking.

Now shift to reverse to the 2:00 o’clock position detent NO FURTHER!!

Have the second person spin the prop clockwise.

If you have positive engagement with no clunking or jumping out of engagement, you are done.

If it does not fully engage into reverse than look at the shift bracket where the short shift cable mounts and there is a slot. Loosen the 7/16 hex that is touching the bracket and move the stud so you are pulling the short cable.

Try this and retest in water under load.

There are tests that would tell you if the cable is stretched/worn out.

Shift control cable measurement test.

If you remove the shift control cable from the shift bracket at engine, shift the control handle to full forward/wide open throttle and make a mark on the cable core where plastic end stops Now go full reverse and repeat making mark with black marker on core where plastic end stops. Measure distance between marks, (2 7/8" to 3 1/8") anymore and replace the control cable.

Short cable measurement test.

Remove short cable from shift bracket, push all the way in and spin prop by hand CCW until full forward is made. Make a mark on shift cable core where the plastic stops over the metal.
Now with someone holding the prop to keep it from spinning pull the cable end out with two fingers, as soon as resistance is felt mark the inner cable where the plastic cable end ends. Now measure between the marks,
The measurement should be if I remember correctly 1/2 " to 9/16". Any greater than 9/16 then either the cable or linkage at gimbal housing or shift spool in lower unit is bad.


Remember, if the shift interrupter switch is not functioning no cable replacement or adjustment will allow the shift to get OUT of gear easily.

So to test interrupter switch simply start engine and depress switch and engine should stall. If not it is a bad switch or bad wire connections…
Click to expand...

thanks kghost, I tested the shift interrupter switch by pushing the button and it stalled so it's ok. I have seen some of your adjustments while searching but never all together like you have done. Great job! I'll try them soon. We are at lake Havasu now for two weeks so I'll have to try them with the boat in the water. We drove our 31 foot RV so I had someone launch it for me. I don't trust it enough on the launch ramp yet. THanks again! Scott
 
kghost said:
Trim out drive up 2 inches from all the way down.
Take keys out of ignition!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a second person stand at the prop.
You, remove the short shift cable from the shift bracket.
After the cable has been removed, push the plastic cable end all the way in and hold in place while prop is being spun C’Clockwise..
Have second person rotate prop counter clock wise until the prop is fully engaged and wont turn anymore. Maintain light effort on shift cable plastic end pushing it to keep forward engaged.

Measure the distance from the center of the brass trunnion to the center of the round mounting hole in the plastic end. Adjust trunnion to make that distance 6 inches. No more no less! In cases where the shift cable is old but still works well you can adjust this dimension to 5 15/16”. NO MORE.

Put shift control handle in forward FULL throttle position.
Remove the control shift cable from shift bracket at this time.

Install short shift cable back onto bracket at this time.

My procedure that has worked for me for almost 30 years

Take the shift control cable and adjust the trunnion so it fits perfectly back into the shift bracket.
Before installing it, turn the brass trunnion 4 complete turns away from the plastic end and reinstall into shift bracket.

Now put shift control handle in the neutral position.
Have second person spin prop, it should spin freely.
Put shift control into the forward detent position at ~ 10:00 position. NO FUTHER.
Have the second person rotate the prop counter clockwise. You should have solid engagement with no ability to continue to turn the prop.

Now shift back into neutral. Prop should spin freely with no clacking or clunking.

Now shift to reverse to the 2:00 o’clock position detent NO FURTHER!!

Have the second person spin the prop clockwise.

If you have positive engagement with no clunking or jumping out of engagement, you are done.

If it does not fully engage into reverse than look at the shift bracket where the short shift cable mounts and there is a slot. Loosen the 7/16 hex that is touching the bracket and move the stud so you are pulling the short cable.

Try this and retest in water under load.

There are tests that would tell you if the cable is stretched/worn out.

Shift control cable measurement test.

If you remove the shift control cable from the shift bracket at engine, shift the control handle to full forward/wide open throttle and make a mark on the cable core where plastic end stops Now go full reverse and repeat making mark with black marker on core where plastic end stops. Measure distance between marks, (2 7/8" to 3 1/8") anymore and replace the control cable.

Short cable measurement test.

Remove short cable from shift bracket, push all the way in and spin prop by hand CCW until full forward is made. Make a mark on shift cable core where the plastic stops over the metal.
Now with someone holding the prop to keep it from spinning pull the cable end out with two fingers, as soon as resistance is felt mark the inner cable where the plastic cable end ends. Now measure between the marks,
The measurement should be if I remember correctly 1/2 " to 9/16". Any greater than 9/16 then either the cable or linkage at gimbal housing or shift spool in lower unit is bad.


Remember, if the shift interrupter switch is not functioning no cable replacement or adjustment will allow the shift to get OUT of gear easily.

So to test interrupter switch simply start engine and depress switch and engine should stall. If not it is a bad switch or bad wire connections…
Click to expand...
This is a great post - total gold
 
kevinj said:
Bad cable, poor adjustment, or the linkage in your controls are sloppy and worn out. I had a bad shift cable that I replaced this summer. I followed the Mercruiser instructions to a T adjusting the new cable and it didn't shift properly. I had to make a lot of trial and error adjustments until I could get it to shift but still found it that neutral was a little iffy to find.

This winter I'm going to shop for deals on a new 4000 control unit and replace mine. This will require new cables as well since the ends are different.

KJ
Click to expand...
 
The neutral interrupter switch witch momentarily cuts the ignition has a wire in the form of a V which pushes the switch back to the center position.
In order to fix your neutral finding issue look at the wire and make sure is touching the contact points on the top and bottom. I bent my wire about 35 degrees so that it would touch the top and bottom of the switch on both of the wire legs. What's happening is that the switch is not being kept in the center thus your issue at hand. Sometimes with time the V wire looses tension and cannot center the switch. The bent put the tension back centering the switch when you go to neutral.
 
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