robbo8199
New Member
I know it’s still winter but I am beginning to look forward to this boating season and the work that needs to be done before hand :smt089. I have a 1995 Sea Ray with the Mercruiser 3.0LX Alpha-1.
At the end of last season my boat started to die when I would attempt to shift it into reverse. While this is certainly an inconvenience, we were able to get around this during the last month or so of the season by simply walking the boat off the trailer, turning it around and then start off facing the direction I needed to go. I spend most of my time in a small unpopulated lake where maneuverability was not much of an issue.
My pathetic description of what I see happening…..
While looking at the top of the engine…. when putting into forward you can see the “kill switch” gets engaged for a second and as it goes into gear the little lever that pushes on the switch rotates right off of the switch so that the engine continues to run once it is in gear. Same process for reverse but as it goes into gear that lever never rotates off of the switch so it simply kills the engine every time.
From what I have read online there seems to be a general consensus that this is a “lower Shift Cable” issue and a replacement is probably needed. I have read that over time this cable can stretch and then will no longer have the correct elasticity to do its job.
This leaves me with 3 Questions for you guys……
1. For those of you with experience does this sound like the correct diagnosis or could it be something else? Any other things I could/should try before replacing this cable?
2. If this is the correct issue what is the consensus of how much work and knowledge is needed to do this on your own? I have a decent amount of skill to work on a car engine but this is my first boat and really my first boat specific issue (of many I am sure) outside of simply changing fluids and more simple tasks. My biggest concern would be making sure I have it adjusted correctly once replaced.
3. I have not had to take my boat in for any other reason in the past so this would be my first trip to the boat shop if I decide to go that route. I called my local shop to get an idea of their process for having work done and wanted to get an idea if this is the norm for a good shop. They charge $110 per hour for labor with a 1 hour minimum. So if I were to bring it in for an estimate that would requirte a 1 hour minimum but if I have the work done that hour would be applied to the work being done. He said if it is indeed the lower shift cable the hit you for the price of the kit which he said is $116 plus 2 ½ hours labor to have it installed. So assuming this were to go smoothly it would cost $391
I appreciate any thoughts or comments anyone has on this. And of course I am happy to add any other amount of detail you think would help.
Thanks in advance, :smt001
Robb
At the end of last season my boat started to die when I would attempt to shift it into reverse. While this is certainly an inconvenience, we were able to get around this during the last month or so of the season by simply walking the boat off the trailer, turning it around and then start off facing the direction I needed to go. I spend most of my time in a small unpopulated lake where maneuverability was not much of an issue.
My pathetic description of what I see happening…..
While looking at the top of the engine…. when putting into forward you can see the “kill switch” gets engaged for a second and as it goes into gear the little lever that pushes on the switch rotates right off of the switch so that the engine continues to run once it is in gear. Same process for reverse but as it goes into gear that lever never rotates off of the switch so it simply kills the engine every time.
From what I have read online there seems to be a general consensus that this is a “lower Shift Cable” issue and a replacement is probably needed. I have read that over time this cable can stretch and then will no longer have the correct elasticity to do its job.
This leaves me with 3 Questions for you guys……
1. For those of you with experience does this sound like the correct diagnosis or could it be something else? Any other things I could/should try before replacing this cable?
2. If this is the correct issue what is the consensus of how much work and knowledge is needed to do this on your own? I have a decent amount of skill to work on a car engine but this is my first boat and really my first boat specific issue (of many I am sure) outside of simply changing fluids and more simple tasks. My biggest concern would be making sure I have it adjusted correctly once replaced.
3. I have not had to take my boat in for any other reason in the past so this would be my first trip to the boat shop if I decide to go that route. I called my local shop to get an idea of their process for having work done and wanted to get an idea if this is the norm for a good shop. They charge $110 per hour for labor with a 1 hour minimum. So if I were to bring it in for an estimate that would requirte a 1 hour minimum but if I have the work done that hour would be applied to the work being done. He said if it is indeed the lower shift cable the hit you for the price of the kit which he said is $116 plus 2 ½ hours labor to have it installed. So assuming this were to go smoothly it would cost $391
I appreciate any thoughts or comments anyone has on this. And of course I am happy to add any other amount of detail you think would help.
Thanks in advance, :smt001
Robb