Quicksilver shift cable engine cutout dilemma
This topic may have been done to death already, apologies for this repeat.I've got a Mercruiser 130hp carburated 4.0L 4-cyl inboard with the
Quicksilver shift cable system. When switching between forward and reverse
the shifter is supposed to be stopped in idle for a brief moment before
changing intp gear. Every so often when I do this the engine cuts right out
as the shifter goes into idle. This happens when docking or embarking,
often after a 10m lake haul, causing a mad scramble to restart the engine
and avoid collision with docks, shorelines and other boats. Except the
only way to prevent further stalls is to ram the shifter through the idle
without stopping, and not good for the drive. I know that the shift system
intentionally cuts the ignition spark for a millisecond to protect the
cables and drive gears from damage by a cutout switch on the switch plate,
and that there's a lower cable to the sterndrive and another between the
shift box and shift plate. I don't know if I should pull the tools and try to fine tune the settings
and risk overlooking a critical tweak, discovery this fact floating toward a
parked Glastron at 10 knots, or take it to the marina? I've gotten nowhere with this marina on this matter though, and I know that
the mechanic knows what the problem is. They just want me to come crawling
on hands on knees with a wad of dough. KT |
Kilgore
Nov 19
2006
|
| Great page. Appreciate it. KT |
Kilgore
Nov 21
|
| All alphas use a shift interrupt switch, no matter what the year. One thing to make sure is that the shift cable is routed so it does not
have any sharp turns in it. Also the shift cable housing can not be
tied tight with wire ties or anything else along the route. The only
hard fastening points for the housing are at the ends. It has to be
able to slide forward and back a little. It can be held in place
loosely with wire ties. It is the tension in the shift cable housing
that activates the interrupt switch. Alphas do not want to come out of
gear as long as the engine is "pushing" the drive. So as you pull on
the shifter the cable housing moves in the opposite direction. Once
enough tension has been applied to the cable housing it activates the
interrupt switch. That stalls the motor momentarily and then it can
come out of gear. This also releases the tension on the cable housing
and releases the switch allowing the motor to catch before it stalls
completely. All this happens on that black shifter plate where the
main shift cable connects to the smaller shift cable that goes to the
outdrive. The service manual has an adjustment procedure that if
followed produces satsfactory results. But first make sure you have no
issues with the cable. It's a waste of time to adjust it when there
are cable problems. It is a bit of a rube goldburg set up but when installed and adjusted
correctly it does work. |
jamesgangnc
Nov 20
|
| When I was having a similar problem, one of the old time mechanics at the
marina said "not" to hesitate when shifting from forward to reverse, when
the rpm is at a reasonably slow amount. Now I don't pause. It's one motion from forward to reverse, and I've had no
more problems. |
JohnH
Nov 19
|
| Is your's a Mercruiser? Mine's a 1989. Bought it used, in good shape.
The seller said that I should always briefly idle the stick before changing
into forward or reverse because of the systems design. I know that
cumulative engine vibration tends to gradually knock the idle screw and fuel
mixture out of sync causing a rough engine that has to be fine tuned from
time to time. Pop the hood, adjust, done. I think these same vibrations
have affected a setting in the 3-part throttle linkage and all that's
required is a simple readjustment. The throttle lever has a fairly sluggish
resistance. It's not easy to finesse it through idle into forward or
reverse without causing a lurch in one direction even at zero knot. KT |
Kilgore
Nov 19
|
| Spend a few hundred to eliminate the liability issues you would have to deal
with if you crash into another boat and cause personal injury, because of a
missed shift.
Jim |
Jim
Nov 19
|
| Please have someone who knows what they are doing repair your lower shift
cable and linkages.
Jim |
Jim
Nov 19
|
| Some people crack me up. I knew a guy years ago who got the bright idea to
build his own block ice freezer for his boat. He worked on this project at
work where he bugged the bananas out of the subcontract refrigeration guy
that used to charge up some of the subsystems that we built. The block ice
guy basically got the contractor to supply parts (free), calculate the coil
length for the compressor (came from a '75 Chevy Impala - free) and overall
give the inventor free help. Although it initially worked, the block ice
maker died for some unknown reason and the owner complained for months about
how the refrigeration contractor was a " bum" and "incompetent". Turns out
the coil had a leak in one of the silver soldered joints ... that the boat
owner had built. The same guy came to me one day with, believe it or not, a 6 volt hotplate
that he dug out of his pile of junk someplace. It must have been built in
the '40's or earlier. He wanted me to design and build a voltage divider so
he could run it on his 12 volt boat battery. Remembering the well
intentioned refrigeration guy, I told him to take a hike. You get what you pay for. Eisboch |
Eisboch
Nov 19
|
| Yes, mine's a Mercruiser with an Alpha 1 outdrive, but it's a 1997. Maybe
times have changed. |
JohnH
Nov 19
|
| Sounds like some good advice to me! |
JohnH
Nov 19
|
| http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth/shift1.html
JR
|
JR
Nov 19
|
| Ouch, do you shift you car/truck the same way? |
Lost
Nov 19
|
| As an additional precaution, it might be wise to avoid placing one's self in
such situations as "floating toward a parked Glastron at 10 knots" and where
the only way to "avoid collision with docks, shorelines and other boats" is
flawless mechanical operation. (I'm picturing a scene from PT-109.) |
Ernest
Nov 19
|
| That's interesting - I was thinking of "McHale's Navy"... |
Short
Nov 20
|
| "You get what you pay for" And if you had tinkered with his stuff, and it didn't work, you would
have payed for it dearly. good call! |
Tim
Nov 19
|
