fund razor

I had to do the impeller in my alpha. Done it a few times before. I left everything in fwd, and then verified that the lower unit was in forward too.
(by hand. the shift shaft spun freely in the lower unit)

After the attempst that you can all imagine, I got everything lined up and started cranking the lower up to the upper. I got some resistance so I stopped. I dropped the lower back down and got ready to try again but I found that the shift shaft didn't spin so easy any more. I think that the sleeve from the upper and the shaft in the lower didn't line up right and I compressed the shift shaft dowm into the drive. Down into what I don't know. When I finally got everything together it didn't feel right, and it had massive resistance at the helm control. Shifted out of fwd into nuetral and then it wouldn't move so I didn't force it.
I never started the boat, or filled it with high vis.

It seemed like the travel of the little selector hood that rides on the outer/upper end of the shift shaft didn't match the travel of the control stick.
(ie: neutral didn't make the hood parallel with the keel, like you would think)
Especially since N is in the center at the stick, and it's in the center at
the shift sleeve.)

Three questions:

a) can I have damaged or misaligned anything on the engine side of the shift assy with one attempt to shift with something tied up below?

b) what would likely be damaged below the shift shaft in the lower unit from excessive compression from above? The shift pin maybe?

c) if I take the lower unit to a drive guy, any tips to make sure I am ok up above at the yoke? I have a shop book, but any real world advice would be great. What would you do if you walked up to a merc260/alpha and had to verify the travel of the parts at the yoke?

Thanks a bunch. I had a buyer for the boat and was just doing the impeller to be cool. No good deed goes unpunished.

BajaRunner

i have done the EXACT thing before. where the 2 pieces of the shifter line up are bent. it may be the higher piece that lines up with the bell housing.

heres what i would do, not sure the proper way. pull the entire outdrive. check to see if you bent the part on the bell housing. if not, split the outdrive to remove the upper part. one of the two are bent. if that explination sucks, pm me with your # and ill call you up and explain it better.

jason

jpclear

Listen to jason. But the yoke (or hood, as you say) should be in the fore/aft position (parallel to keel) when in forward, not neutral. --- jp

jaroot

if you remove the shift shaft support with the seal in it the shift rod will slide right out for inspection... takes a "special" tool from merc to remove it unless you make your own...

piece of hex stock with a hole in the middle... and weld 2 wings on her and away you go... or the same with an old socket...

offthefront

I am in the middle of changing the impeller on an alpha 1 drive now ....and after reading this realized I did not put drive in gear ..the lower unit is still out ...what steps do I need to do ?

fund razor

Thanks everybody. I got a nugget from each of you. I'll PM Jason.
It's good to know about the fore/aft position of the yoke while in FWD, because that's not what you would expect based on the other ends of the system.
Counter-intuitive.

Off the front: Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you can shut off the fuel and shift in forward, that will place the lower yoke in the position described above. (lined up with keel) Then you can put the lower half of the drive in forward by turning the splined end of the shift shaft (I think CCW) this will put the lower half in forward. Check by spinning prop. If I remember what Iggy told me, CW yes spin, CCW no spin = forward.
Make sure the lower half stays in gear during the attempt to connect to the upper.
Here's where I went wrong: if possible, have someone loosely hold the little yoke on the transom side of the drive where the shift shaft sleeve passes from the lower unit to the upper. It needs to have just a little play to slip together without binding or catching... but it needs to be held up and lined up with the little yoke above.

Thanks for the help guys. I hope I help Offthefront.
Anybody have any thoughts about the shift stuff on the engine bracket and what effect me having it in the wrong gear would have?

fund razor

I think my problem fro the compression is in the lower, because that splined end of the shift shaft has gotten hard to turn by hand. Takes a vicegrip now. Boo.

Buyer is being patient because I have been honest. Cool.

jpclear

That was just a little tough to follow, but after reading it three times after maybe more than three beers on a Sunday nite, I think I got it!--and so do you!! Just remember that if you back off the load and start to move the P.S. the other way, the gear dogs in the L.U. will "ramp up" and rotate the "foot" that needs to fit into the "shoe". --- jp

fund razor

It was tough for me to follow... and I wrote it.

I got you JP. Basically don't rotate the prop shaft, or the shift shaft will rotate too, because of the connection with the gear dogs in the L.U.

My concern is that I jammed the shift shaft down into something important (like, for example GEAR DOGS.) that whole prop shaft, shift shaft, gear dog "relationship" changed after I crammed the two halves together a half inch without the splined top of the shift shaft and the grooved sleeve above lined up right.

Who knows a good outdrive guy within 50 miles of Toledo?

JUSTONCE

Duberts. Port Clinton. Never been there but his signs are all over the place.