I purchased a 2001 Pursuit 2460 Denali with 5.7 Mercruiser with bravo III outdrive. Boat had 138 hrs of usage and the only problem was hard shifting. I bought the boat thinking it would be something easy to repair and have had it looked at by two separate boat mechanics at different marinas. The first mechanic replaced and rerouted the throttle and shift cables. The shift cable had actually worn through the sheathing and was outside the cable cover. I water tested it afterwards and the shifting did not markedly improve. I order and replaced both cables, routed as stock from the factory and made sure that no extreme bends existed anywhere along the pathway to the motor. With no improvement. I decided that it must be the short cable from the linkage on the motor to the outdrive that was the culprit(based on queries) and had a second shop do the work replacing that one. The mechanic observed that the control(Gen I) as it was mounted on a hinged console, when closed, created an extreme bend and hindered operation. Based on that, I used a spacer to elevate the the control 3" above its original location to relieve the bend. Little to no improvement. Thinking it was the control, I was told a Gen II control is smoother so replaced Gen I with a Gen II and matching cables which were teleflex extreme cables. It was also mounted on a spacer to minimize bend. It still shifts hard but once in gear, the trottle works buttery smooth. The friction nut for the control is loosened completely.
Despite all these things, nothing has really improved shifting. I believe the problem lies in the outdrive but neither mechanic seemed to think the outdrive was the problem. If i disconnect the cables from the shift linkage, the controller moves freely. Therefore it has to be in the outdrive. Has anyone experienced this problem and identified where its occuring? I need an expert opinion as to what the problem is. Thanks in advance.
Despite all these things, nothing has really improved shifting. I believe the problem lies in the outdrive but neither mechanic seemed to think the outdrive was the problem. If i disconnect the cables from the shift linkage, the controller moves freely. Therefore it has to be in the outdrive. Has anyone experienced this problem and identified where its occuring? I need an expert opinion as to what the problem is. Thanks in advance.
