Bravo stern drive will not go into gear when engine is off?

[Kirat41]

Hello guys! recently purchased a 268 this winter... The bellows looked like they were cracking and the trim gauge was not working... So Ended up changing all the bellow and trim & tilt limit switches... Got everything back together now... But noticed that I am not able to put the drive into forward gear when the engine is off... But it goes into reverse just fine and the prop locks up...I did adjust the cable using the proper Mercruiser tools prior to putting the drive back on... Now my question is did I screw something up during the installation or do these drives only go into gear when the engine is running?

 

[Henry Boyd]

Welcome to the club.

Bravo drives have a clutch mechanism in the upper unit that requires the driveshaft to be spinning/engine running. As a general rule you should not be shifting a Bravo without the engine running. To check the adjustment you have to set the gear in neutral and start the engine.

Henry

 

[Lazy Daze]

Never, NEVER shift a Bravo drive if the engine isn't running as you can do damage to the shift cable where it connects to the drive. It's not "guaranteed damage right away" - so maybe you'll be OK.

 

[Kirat41]

ahh thanks for the quick reply's guys... Guess I'll check everything over once more and get the boat in driveway with the muffs on for a test...