TOPIC: Can of worms....

I have had some trouble with the LU on my Merc, and I had my son's mechanic (my son is the service writer at a boat dealership) reseal it. Since I put it back on I could not get it in to reverse. So tonight I decided to take it back off and see what I could do.

Neutral and forward worked fine but the cable just couldn't go back far enough to get reverse. If I took the cable off and pushed the slide lever back as far as it would go it would drop in. So, after many trials to get the splines to move over a tooth to get what I needed, I seem to have discovered that I had put the cables in the control box wrong, I.E. it seemed as if the one with the slightly longer end (who new?) was on the throttle and the shorter one was on the shifter.

So into the control box I went to swap them back, knowing the wiring was shot from the last time I was in there, and also knowing I had been telling myself I needed to rewire. So I cut back the cable in to some fresh(er) wire and resoldered everything.(About 2 hours) I put the cables in the opposite postions, and seemed to have forward, neutral and reverse with the motor not running.

Time to fire it up on the hose, I pulled the floor jack out from under the LU and hooked up the hose and it fired, at about 4500 rpm.....quick shut off (really quick) and remembered I hadn't readjusted the throttle cable, walked back to the motor and the LU was sitting with the skeg on the ground and the driveshaft barely still in the mid. I forgot to put some nuts back in to hold it on.....

Now, adjust the cable and reinstall the LU (no damage, thankfully...the Lord watches out for fools...), start it up and no water from the weep hole!

NOW WHAT???? Well it seems as if a mud dauber had begun to build a nest in the weep hole tube....so get a piece of wire and scrape out the mud, now I have water...but I STILL have to push the throttle WAY back to BARELY get in to reverse, and in neutral it is grinding as if it too far forward towards forward gear. If I pull it back slightly toward reverse, it stops grinding...

It's dark now so I quit.

Bernie

The control box on the boat is blue, the engine is a 1970 Merc 1350 (red).

Is it possible the later control box has less shifter travel than the earlier (red) one?

Bernie - We all have nights like that at times. I knocked off after getting very frustrated trying to crawl under the 18DC deck to glass the seam. Had supports sticking in my back, cramped back and arms, resin choking me, should have cut the tape in short sections instead of leaving it on the 25 yd roll, mixed the resin a little hot....on and on. Got the port side on just fine. Just can not fit up under the deck and have any room to work. Not such a big deal, but after 10 hours at work, and a frustrating day there, I should have left it alone. After losing it, I walked away from it for the night. Will do some hardware installs on the Missile tomorrow and hit the 18DC seam on Sat AM when I am fresh. And, always do the hard part first when you have the energy, not the easy part. Remember, this is fun. Truly. If you're not in the mood, don't push it. Should have remembered that lesson but I keep relearning.

Brian

Bernie - I have a 1971 1350 on the Missile. Can I check something for you?

Brian

The control box on the boat is blue, the engine is a 1970 Merc 1350 (red).

Is it possible the later control box has less shifter travel than the earlier (red) one?

crosbyboat wrote:

Bernie - I have a 1971 1350 on the Missile. Can I check something for you?

Brian

Brian, My cable has to move the slider all the way back to the end to make it in to reverse, could you check and see if yours has to go back that far to engage?

Thanks, Bernie

Jeez Bernie, here I thought all you were gonna do last night is clean the boat!

Sorry to hear about the problems, I hope you get her sorted out pronto.

Frank

Bernie - I'll look at it tonight and take a few photos. This may sound dumb, but have you disconnected the two cables and watched their movement? The first cable to move is the shifter, the second cable is the throttle, and has much more throw than the shifter cable. Every time I take it apart I have to recheck that to make sure I get it right. I can't imagine you don't have it right though since you're getting good fwd engagment and speed. As I recall the cable ends are adjustable. Have you tried disconnecting the shifter lever, putting the shifter in neutral, then manually putting the put motor in neutral and seeing how the shift connector mates up to the motor? It may simply be a cable adjustment to get the shifter set correctly to the motor.

Brian

Thanks Brian. I have to adjust the 'trundle' as far as it will go to even get close to reverse. It seems as if there is too much travel between neutral and reverse in the gearcase.

Common problem. Take the lower unit back off, remembering to shift into forward. Mark the shifter hole indents when you take it off. Play with the shifter tube, turning to the next notch (in the direction toward neutral), then reinstall. the cable might need some adjustment, but that should do it.

I would try moving the shift lever aft one notch also, repair the easiest frst. If that does not work you may need to re-adjust the shim amount in the lower unit bearing carrier. It could be the dog gear not engaging all the way.
Darrell

wmlagna wrote:

Common problem. Take the lower unit back off, remembering to shift into forward. Mark the shifter hole indents when you take it off. Play with the shifter tube, turning to the next notch (in the direction toward neutral), then reinstall. the cable might need some adjustment, but that should do it.

I agree it is very common when reinstalling a lower unit to be off.
some prefer installation to be in neutral some in forward gear..I like forward gear

It could be the dog gear not engaging all the way.

when you have the lower off to re align your shift linkage
turn the shift shaft "on the lower unit" and test the prop to be sure it is in fact shifting in and out of gears correctly before you install the lower unit