240 SD stuck in forward gear

[bdaubenmire]

I have a 2002 240SD. I just had an accident caused by the boat being stuck in forward gear. No matter what I did, put it in neutral or reverse it kept moving forward. Until I shut the engine off it would not stop. After I had it docked and tied I put the boat in neutral and started the engine, it moved forward. I also was able to start the boat while it was in forward gear. Has anybody had this same problem?

 

[midway]

I have not had that problem, but I did have one stuck in reverse when the linkage fell apart up on the engine, cotter pin had been left out. You probably have something like that or one of the shift cables is broken, my experience is with Alpha drives and there is one cable from the shift/throttle lever to the engine and one from the engine to the drive. That is what I would check first.

 

[sdl22]

Good luck w/ that..I agree, probably loose linkage...

 

[keokie]

What outdrive do you have? Has it been off the boat recently?

 

[beachcombersc]

I have a 2002 240SD. I just had an accident caused by the boat being stuck in forward gear. No matter what I did, put it in neutral or reverse it kept moving forward. Until I shut the engine off it would not stop. After I had it docked and tied I put the boat in neutral and started the engine, it moved forward. I also was able to start the boat while it was in forward gear. Has anybody had this same problem?

When was the last time you had the outdrive pulled? And who did it????

 

[dpvandy01]

I accidentally shut off the engine in gear on my 250 and the cotter pin fell out.. it is a very quick fix but the boat would not go into neutral. even when I put it in reverse it engaged the drive and went forward.. made for some adventures in trailering but I got it to a mechanic (we were on vacation) and they had us going again in 20 minutes.

 

[bdaubenmire]

Ok everyone here is the verdict. It was a part that attaches to the cable and then ultimately to the outdrive itself. It is a metal piece that was worn enough to fail. This could happen to any boat out there with this piece. I will post a picture as soon as I get the failed part. I don't know what this is called but I am saving it for my winterization checklist each year. I don't want it to fail again.

 

[bdaubenmire]

This boat is winterized by a certified Mercruiser each year in which I have a high confidence in. The outdrive was pulled about 1.5 years ago for alignment, etc. I have only had it in the water for about 5 hours this year before the failure. I believe the root cause was moisture around the part and some silt. The new part cost $60, labor wasn't cheap. More later and then we can close this thread, I just want others to realize the potential problems if not checked periodically.