With the engine running, shifting into forward and reverse works perfectly. The gears engage nice and smooth. However, when returning to neutral from either forward or reverse, the control handle sometimes needs to be wiggled back and forth for the gears to disengage. The solutions was found!
This video was made to hopefully help others with a similar issue. It lists the steps that I took to figure out why my boat would sometimes be reluctant to shift out of gear. Note that I am a self-taught mechanic not certified in any way. My information comes from Internet discussion groups and the Volvo Penta Workshop Manual for the 2004 DP-SM sterndrive. Your experience may vary.
The shift bracket tool (P/N 3850057) is very difficult to find. Here are the measurements:
Using digital calipers, the measurement between the middle of the top hole and the middle of the hole with the thumb screw is 22.5 mm (approx. 7/8 inch). The diameter of the upper and lower holes is 6.9 mm (approx. 9/32 inch). The bar itself is 76.3 mm (exactly 3 inch) long and 15.8 mm (exactly 5/8 inch) wide. The bar is 9.6 mm (exactly 3/8 inch) thick on the ends where the holes are, and steps to 7.8 mm (approx. 5/16 inch) thick for the rest of the bar - the step occurs at 15.8 mm (exactly 5/8 inch) from either end of the bar. The step looks like it is there to ensure the bar sits flat on the screw locations despite the raised lettering on the shift mechanism.
See also the iBoats forum post where this process was discussed:
forums.iboats.com/forum/engin...
25 июл 2020
