Stiff shifting Bravo outdrive.

[dave1dpc]

I've had an historic problem with my starboard outdrive. With all cables disconnected shifting from fly or cabin with engine turning is excessive . The cable twixt engine to leg has been renewed, Last time on the hard it was found the detent ball was seized in and therefore freed off {although i would suggest this fault would make shifting easier not harder}. Can anyone {que Spannerman ?} suggest my next check when i next have the boat out? Dave.

 

[jointventureII]

If it's not the detent ball, then cone clutch too smooth? (Does it go into gear after you give it a few more revs?)

Yeah spannerman will be the one to advise best!

 

[spannerman]

Have you tried disconnecting all the cables where they meet the shift quadrant on the engine and just tried shifting by hand with the engine running. If its heavy then its in the drive if not then its your helm or flybridge cables, you probably have a mixer somewhere so you can switch from helm to flybridge, these can cause problems if worn or incorrectly set up.
If its the drive then it needs to come off and the rear cover taking off so you can check the linkage which goes through the drive to the arm with the detent ball, there is a hinge and these sometimes get rusty and stiff. When you take the rear cover off you will see the upper and lower gears, these have a + and - sign stamped on them at 180 degees, it is imperative that when you rotate the input shaft you have one gear showing plus and the other minus when the marks line up, if they don’t then its been assembled incorrectly and the input shaft has to come out so you can index the marks, it doesn’t matter which gear has plus or minus as long as the other one is the opposite.
If these are correct then you need to examine the clutch and shift fork for wear/damage.

 

[dave1dpc]

Have tried with the cable from the quadrant disconnected and operating the new cable with engine running but still stiff to shift. This leg has always been harder to shift than the other so i think further dismantling may be necessary'. Thanks