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Stuck in Gear

pdcjd13

New member
I have a 89 Invader with a 4.3

I have a 89 Invader with a 4.3l Mercuriser. I have been having issues with the drive going into gear. The last time I had it out the drive would not shift into reverse. Well it would shift into i guess but would die. I had it at home yesterday and tried shifting it back and forth. I was able to shift it slowly into reverse and give it throttle. Then I could it out of reverse. I played with it back and forth and by some miracle it started working. I put it back in reverse and now it wont shift back to neutral or drive. When I try to shift it just dies. I think it is a linkage problem but I am not sure. The prop will turn counter clockwise but will not turn clockwise. When turning counterclockwise you hear a clicking sound as it turns. I am not sure if this is normal or not. Please give your thoughts. I am trying to figure out how to try to manually pull the cable that shifts the gears. It has to be the cable or the lower unit. How hard is it to replace this cable? Do you have to drop the lower unit? It looks like you do but I am not sure. Please give your thoughts.

thanks David
 
hi david look to posts in the

hi david look to posts in the last few days the clicking noise you here is correct you need to ajust the cable at the enigine end there is elongation on the back plate to do this will look for instructions how to fix and post later all the best for now
 
"[b]"I am trying to figure

""I am trying to figure out how to try to manually pull the cable that shifts the gears. It has to be the cable or the lower unit."

Ayuh,.......

Your Lower Shift Cable is Junk,.......

If you're a Mechanic,+ have a Factory Shop Manual,......
You can probably Change it yourself.......

If you're Not a Mechanic, or Don't have the Manual,.......

Have it Done........."
 
I think that your right about

I think that your right about the shift cable. It wont buge in either direction. I am just worried about the break down of the drive. In the book it says to put the boat tin the drive position before taking apart. I can not do this because it wont release from reverse. Is it hard to place the lower unit in forward gear when unit is removed from engine
 
I have tried my best to pull t

I have tried my best to pull the drive off. It will seperate about 3/8 of an inch and I can't get it any further. Is there any tricks to get this thing apart.
 
"David;
Likely your upper and


"David;
Likely your upper and lower shift shaft sections are locked together because it's not in forward gear.
Is there any way you can remove the lower shift cable eye end at the shift bracket and try to work the cable sleeve in (towards the stern)? Fully back towards stern is forward gear and is where you need to be to get it apart.
It may be possible to get the drive separated without being in forward, but I don't know if you could do this without damage to one or both of the shift shafts.
The prop clicking while turning CCW and locking while turning CW is normal BTW for reverse gear. It's just the opposite for forward.
Rod"
 
Thanks for the advice Rod. I h

Thanks for the advice Rod. I had already beat you to that though. I tried it and just about every thing else I could do. The good book I have did not help much. It says go at it with a hammer and chisel. Or unbolt the engine and pull the engine forward. I just cant talk my wife into lifting one side while I lift the other. LOL!!!. I took two steps back and punted this morning. I guess I will find out how bad I going to take it up the stern in a couple of days. So much for going out in the lake on the fourth. Looks like it will have to be floaties and life jackets. Well I guess I don't have to worry about getting a BWI. Thanks for trying to help a a want to be Skipper. I will post back to let y'all now what happened. I am sure it is the shift cable though. I am going to have them replace the water pump while it is in there. It needs to be done because it will heat up if it idles for to long. Well have fun on the lake all.

Dave
 
"David;
With the leg trimmed


"David;
With the leg trimmed all the way up, you might be able to get under the back end of the exhaust bellows and pry the shift shaft coupler apart without causing damage.
Viewed from the top (with straight ahead as 12 o'clock), you will likely find them turned at about 9 o'clock. Since the lower is slide bar that fits into a shoe in the upper, this prevents them separating when they are turned sideways. When in forward, they point to 12 o'clock, and the lower easily slides out of and into the upper.
I am wondering if a little judicious prying with a screwdriver might just separate them, though it will be an awkward tight spot to work?
If you send me an E-mail at [email protected] I will send you some pictures of the dissassembled parts, so you can see what you are dealing with.
Rod"
 
"or you could just drop the oi

"or you could just drop the oil out the drive, then drop the bottom box off, the gearshift will now be disconnected and the top box will slide straight off."
 
"Good point "guest", a

"Good point "guest", and way too easy. Sometimes the obvious doesn't hit you till too late.
Thanks for the input.
Rod"
 
"no worries, with the dirve of

"no worries, with the dirve off you will know what has gone tight, if its the secindary cable from engine to drive then you got two chances depending on boat/ engine instalation, if your lucky it will be a pain in the backside, if your unlucky its engine out.!!"
 
Well it is at the shop. They a

Well it is at the shop. They are replacing the shift cable and a few other things. The trim sender unit on the left side of the drive. the wires were bare so I guess it was not working. I have no idea. The trim worked so I don't no what the purpose of two units. I bought it used so I do not no if something was done to keep the trim working. I know that the trim would go all the way up without pushing in the trailer button. I believe it is only suppose to go up so far to prevent over trimming. If someone can explain the two senders and their function I would appreciate it. They say the gimbal bearing needs to be replaced. I don't no if it needs to or not because I have no seen it. Even if I did I probably wouldn't be able to tell unless it was really messed up. They said that the u-joints looked good. They said they would be replacing the rubber boot also. I also am having the water pump changed. They are charging me about $1300.00. I am probably getting raped but I don't really know. If someone is a mechanic let me know if that sounds about right. I could probably done all this myself if I could have got the drive off but I have never done it before. I have done a lot of work on cars in my time but never boats. My friends were no help. I really did not have a choice. I will let y'all no what happens next.
 
"How the trim/tilt works--Befo

"How the trim/tilt works--Before you tear anything apart or replace wiring and switches, test it out; first by visual inspection by pulling back and forth on the wires while operating the swithes and then test with a meter. At the commander switches, the red wire will always have 12 volts. The green wire gets 12 volts when the trim toggle is held down. The blue wire gets 12 volts only when the toggle is held up or the trailer switch is pushed in. The purple wire is part of the limit switch circuit.

If the switch voltages are as they are supposed to be then go to the trim/tilt pump assy. and make sure the purple wire connector (single wire) and the blue wire connector with two blue wires on one side of the connection are not corroded or loose. These are the trim position and limit switch wires. Pull them apart and inspect; they should be clean and tight; reconnect them.

Next check the three wire connector (RED, BLUE & GREEN) at the pump assy. This plug can vibrate loose and cause your problem. Pull it off and see if the pins are clean and not corroded; reconnect it.


The RED wire in the plug sends 12 volts from the pump assy. to the toggle up/down and trailer up switches. The BLUE & GREEN wires bring 12 volts from the toggle trim/tilt and trailer switches to the two solenoids on the pump assy.

The GREEN wire goes to the DOWN solenoid while the BLUE wire goes to the UP solenoid.

Did you check the switches with an ohmmeter? The trim/tilt switch is a 2-way switch and will show continuity only when it is toggled in each direction between two of the wires.

Up toggle connects the RED wire to the BLUE wire. Down toggle connects the RED wire to the GREEN wire. The TRAILER UP switch also connects the RED wire to the BLUE wire.

The OD trim limit switch will only send voltage to the trim/tilt switch in the upward toggle position if the OD limit switch is below the adjusted trim limit that keeps the OD being out of the water.

To test the limit switch circuit, lower the OD to the down position and slowly raise it with the trim toggle up until it stops. Then measure the distance between the trim cylinder attaching bolts. If the distance is approx. 22 +/- 1/4 inches, then the trim limit switch is adjusted properly and the commander trim toggle switch is working in the up/down mode.

Go to the trim/tilt pump assy. and make sure the purple wire connector (single wire) and the blue wire connector two blue wires on one side of the connection are not corroded or loose. Pull them apart; they should be clean and tight; reconnect them.

Next check the three (RED, BLUE & GREEN) wire connector at the pump assy. The RED wire in the plug sends 12 volts from the pump assy. to the toggle up/down and trailer up switches. This plug can vibrate loose and cause your problem. Pull it off and see if the pins are clean and not corroded; reconnect it.

The BLUE & GREEN wires bring 12 volts from the switches to the two solenoids on the pump assy. The GREEN wire goes to the DOWN solenoid while the BLUE wire goes to the UP solenoid.

Disconnect the trim/tilt assy. wires from the battery and then check each of the nuts and studs on the solenoids for clean and tight fittings. Each solenoid has three wires and the buss bar connected to it. The bases of them have a black ground wire and a small blue wire to one and a small green wire to the other.

On top of each solenoid, the large BLUE wire from the pump motor attaches to a large copper stud with the solenoid that has the small blue wire at the base while the large GREEN wire from the pump motor attaches to a large copper stud with the solenoid that has the small green wire at the base.

The other copper solenoid studs are connected together with a copper buss bar. One of the two studs will also have a funny looking 110 amp fuse attached to the bar. The large RED wire from the battery connects to the 110 amp fuse. This large red wire is the power for this buss bar. A small RED wire attached to the bar stud sends 12 volts to the switches which in turn sends the 12 volts to the solenoids which turns on the pump motor.

Important: if the studs on the either solenoid are dark and not like a clean penney, especially the BLUE wired solenoid, this solenoid is failing due to age and/or a loose bottom copper stud nut. The dark color comes from heat generated inside of the solenoid by the contactor because it is arcing like welding similar to points wearing out. Change the solenoid.

Guy"
 
"David;
I'd venture that


"David;
I'd venture that $1300 is not bad for what you are having done. And the work list looks like it includes most of the usual suspects when it comes to outdrive problems.
So take heart; soon you will be out on the water happily boating along, confident in the knowledge that your trusty craft will not let you down.
At least that's the theory.
Have fun!
Rod"
 
Thanks Rod. I just have a ques

Thanks Rod. I just have a question about the exhaust bellow. They replaced mine along with the other bellows. The new is not sealed to the drive. They said that is the way they are made now. They said that once trimmed down that it will connect to the drive. I just don't see why they would have changed this. The old one was connected on both side water tight. Is this true or are they trying to get by with something. They said that it will not hurt the performance of the boat at all .I just don't want to mess my boat up. Please give me your input when you get the chance.

thanks
 
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