rrentsch

Today I had the boat out for a couple hours and noticed that the shifters got real stiff and hard to pull in and out of gear,I have HP500efi's /Gaffrig shifters. They have been stiff for as long as i have owned the boat but today they seemed to get worse. If it's a drive problem I wouldn't think it would be both drives at once. Has anyone else had a problem like this and how can you free them up ? Can you lube the cables some how ?

boatnt

Bravo drives??
if you have Bravos drain the outdrive oil and remove the top plate/cover inside you will find and check ball,make sure the check ball is not stuck.

speed demon

I have a single engine boat and had to replace the shift cable about four years ago. It gradually got worse and then eventually would not shift at all. It was Fathers Day weekend. I was pissed! Couldn't use the boat that weekend.

It's strange that both shifters are having the same problem at the same time, but I guess they both could be wearing out. I think the cable was about $100.00.

CCstinger260

Are your shift interrupts working and adjusted properly? If not, toasted cables is the best thing to hope for. Lots of shifts with no interrupts = toasted outdrives...BTW, I'm assuming that Bravos have those pesky devils too. My experience is with Alphas/pre-Alphas only.

speedreeder

Don't remove the top plate! Remove the back plate that has 3 12 point 3/8 bolts. You will loose gear oil so drain it first. In the cover there is a ball,sleeve,and a spring make sure they are clean and plenty of grease. If they look OK then it is probably cables. Look for mud, rust, etc. on the shift linkage inside that cover. To be certain it is lowers, unhook black cable on your shift plate and work your shifter, If it is really free it is the lower cable.

boatnt

thats what I was trying to say.

txriverrat2001

The new shift cables on a Bravo are teflon coated and are much easier to shift than the older style. I wouldn't recommend shifting the drive without the engine running. The shift fork uses part of the gear to help with the movement of the cone clutch. I would remove the drive - check the lower shift cable by disconnecting it from the top and moving it with the drive off and see how much resistance you have - ther shouldn't be any resistance - smooth as silk - so to speak. If it's binding - replace the shift cable. If it's in good shape - then drain the gear oil and remove the back cover from the upper half of the drive. If the ball is rusty/dirty you need to remove the shift jaw - clean the passage - and make sure you install new o-rings when mounting the drive.

Scott

O.K. you guys are making this way too complicated!

Take the cable off the shift plate bracket that goes to the helm (this is located in the engine compartment) now shift it from forward to reverse. Is it an easy soft motion or do you feel friction? If yes to the friction replace the cable to the helm. If no then take off the cable going to the drive start the boat have it tied tight to the dock and try shifting in and out of gear. How did it feel if tight go ahead and pull the drive and start inspecting it like stated above.

My money is on the cable to the helm If you leaned on it by mistake like I did (oops)

BTW Merc offers three cable styles.
1 regular
2 Premium (very nice)
3 Platinum (may be overkill)

speedreeder

I have had both cables on my PQ, feel very smooth when I took them off the shift plate and away from the drive. The problem is where it bends around the exhaust Y pipe, the cable puts pressure on the outer bend of the housing and rubs through the inside lining right there and that is where too much resistance comes from . My money is on that it will NOT be bad from helm to shift plate.

rrentsch

I pulled the cables off the shift plate tonight. The cables from the helm to the shift plates are OK. I did notice that the starboard drive shift cable has an excessive kink to it inside the shift cable boot, I tried to straighten it out but don't know if it will help. It looks like a real p.i.t.a. to change out. I 'm not sure you can even change it with out pulling the engine ?