Stuck in gear...

[GrBeast001]

Good Morning all,

About two weeks ago i was out on the river and my waterpump impeller went so i got towed in...This past weekend i finally got the impeller and replaced it. Now when i start the boat up i have water pissing but im stuck in gear. I have no nuetral/idle. And i hear a little chattering coming from the outboard.

I plan on taking the l/u off again this weekend and giving it another shot because i must have screwed something up.

If anyone has any ideas what the issue can be i would appreciate all and any help.

Thanks.

 

[hotdaddy27]

Check to make sure that your shift linkage (spline end) was attached/aligned.

It sounds like when you took off the L/U you inadvertently misaligned the shift shaft.

Good luck.

HD

 

[SKATR186]

Make sure before you take the lower unit down it is in the same gear as when you put it back up in place. Having it in gear makes the alignment of everything very easy. should be a 10 minute fix or less.

if you need more explanation let me know.

 

[GrBeast001]

Thank you for the replies...Ive been a away for work for a bit and have not been home to try what you guys have instructed.

Hopefully i ca get to it this weekend bc im itching to get out on the water!!!

 

[GrBeast001]

Make sure before you take the lower unit down it is in the same gear as when you put it back up in place. Having it in gear makes the alignment of everything very easy. should be a 10 minute fix or less.

if you need more explanation let me know.

This is a little embarrassing to say but i just got around to working on the motor this weekend. It still is stuck after taking it apart and realigning it. I guess i am going to need a bit more instruction if anyone has the time.

Thanks.

 

[mateman]

Is it stuck in foreward of reverse. When you take the lower off again, place your gear selector in the gear the its stuck in. reverse if stuck in reverse or foreward if stuck in foreward. Good luck

 

[Ramifications]

This is a little embarrassing to say but i just got around to working on the motor this weekend. It still is stuck after taking it apart and realigning it. I guess i am going to need a bit more instruction if anyone has the time.

Thanks.

What I would do...

Try to spin the prop... if it spins freely, you're in neutral. You can disconnect the shift shaft with one bolt at the front of the engine. From there you can move it manually until you find neutral and the prop spins freely. Once you have it in neutral, drop the lower unit, reconnect the shift shaft to the linkage, put the throttle in neutral and reinstall the lower unit.

 

[GrBeast001]

Thanks for the replies...i will have a go at it tomorrow! it is stuck in forward.

 

[GrBeast001]

So i tried taking the lower unit off and keeping in forward gear and realigning everything but that didnt work either....Were is the bolt for the shift shaft? The prop does not spin freely or go into reverse just forward.

Any more advice will be appreciated as always!!!

 

[Ramifications]

So i tried taking the lower unit off and keeping in forward gear and realigning everything but that didnt work either....Were is the bolt for the shift shaft? The prop does not spin freely or go into reverse just forward.

Any more advice will be appreciated as always!!!

1- Locate the shift shaft coming up from the from of the lower unit to the top of the mounting plate. There should be one bolt going through it. It will be located below the cowl and under the carbs on the front side of the engine.

2- Make sure the shift shaft is properly aligned and seated in the lower unit. There is a splined stub sticking out of the lower and the female end on the shift shaft

3- Unbolt the shift shaft at the top where is connects to the control/shifter linkage

4- manually turn the shift shaft where you unbolted it from and find neutral (when the prop spins freely)

5- Remove the lower unit

6- Reconnect the shift shaft to the linkage with the one bolt removed

7- Put the throttle/shifter in the neutral position

8- Reinstall the lower unit and make sure the shift shaft is aligned on the lower unit splined piece.

If that doesn't work, something else is wrong...

 

[boatman4021]

I had this happen on a 3.0L one time and the lower is still stuck in forward to this day! Took it to repair shop and the prop shaft is stuck, tried every method we could come up with, but the prop shaft won't budge. Best I can tell, this was caused by a mis-alignment issue. When it was in forward gear, there was too much pressure on the shift linkage and it appears that the shift mechanism and the prop shaft have welded themselves together.

 

[guard dog]

Beast,

I see that you started this thread a while ago so hopefully you got everything working again but if you didn't try this:

I worked at a boat dealership as a mechanic trainee just out of high school for a short time. The first thing that they taught me was to replace impeller's because it was an easy repair. The sequence went like this: put the engine in drive (forward) using the shifter, drop the lower unit, relace the impeller, ensure that the lower unit is still in forward by turning the prop clockwise (you should hear a clicking as it turns and it will not turn counter clockwise), if the props turns any other way then adjust the rod at the front of the lower unit by turning it to the desired position (this rod has 3 positions: for/rev/neut), slide the lower unit back into place and tighten bolts. It works every time, at least it did in the 80's LOL.

Shifting the engine into forward before beginning was just to establish a routine. You can do it any position, you just have to ensure that the lower unit is in the same position before reassembling it so that there are no alignment issue's. Also (obviously) if the prop spins clockwise with a click when in forward but won't spin counter clockwise just the opposite will be true when the engine is in reverse.