This is Part 1 of a sequence of videos I will post on how to properly make repairs on the transom components. In this first video I describe the cause and repair for MerCruiser Alpha one shift cable failure.
I just got my first boat . Its late 80s. Mercruiser 3.0... last weekend I was pulling a tube... I have only had it out twice. Its been hard to shift into gear. It just has a lot of resistance and it dies a lot going into gear. But eventually gets drivable. Anyway this time I was taking off. It just kinda popped into neutral and won't go into gear. Forward or reverse. Running fine. But changing gears does nothing
great video! The water can also seep by the big, rubber O ring on the bell housing and into the joint bellows. I wonder about putting some kind of sealant on the O ring?
I've got an older MC-1 drive with this shift shaft bushing failure. Have you ever seen water make its way past the large o-ring and into the u-joint bellows? Pulled drive off for end of year maintenance and found that water had been sitting in the shift cavity for a while, and that the large o-ring just before u-joint bellows was extremely deteriorated with a small amount of water in the bellows. Bellows/gimbal and all that were new last spring and thankfully gimbal is still smooth as butter. I'm hoping I can just get this bushing and it didn't take anything else out. It was still shifting good at the end of the season so hopefully I'll be aight. Thanks for this vid
Hard to say, The drive gasket and the flat foam o'ring/seal would both have to fail and that would flood the bellows area completely likely. It could be water from the engine room sloshing back during acceleration if their is excess bilge water.
@@tedsmarinerepair8956 The way I'm seeing it, if there is water in the shift cable cavity, it would only have to get by the large o-ring to enter the bellows area, right? This o-ring was pretty deformed when I pulled it out, maybe from improper installation? I'm thinking this is why I had a little bit of water in the bellows. Never any excess bilge water, boat is trailered and plug taken out after each trip. I only ever have water drain out if I've had people getting in and out of the boat all day dripping water in.
@@iWatchVideosAtHome Sorry I was a little confused on your original message. Yes either the large round o'ring seal or the gasket between the drive and the bell/pivot housing could be the cause. If you don't have a lot of water then likely one of them was allowing the water to seep in. And being a trailered boat no chance of water in the bilge doing it. I would make sure both surfaces on the drive and bell/pivot housing are very clean, (absolutely no residual gasket material) and put the drive back on with a new kit. I coat the gasket with a light coat of grease to make removal and gasket changing easy for the next time you take the drive off. Hope that clears it up! Thanks, Ted
@@tedsmarinerepair8956 gotcha, I appreciate your time in replying. This is why I always pull the drive at the end of every season, to check for problems before they get bigger.
100% the water is leaking through the big, rubber O-ring between the leg and the bell housing, I replaced all my bellows, meticulous about cleaning surfaces, applying bellows adhesive and seating bellows properly. After one summer of boating, trailering the boat, took leg off and had a bit of water sitting in the u-joint bellows. You could clearly see where the salt water had flooded the shifter area and seeped past the bit O ring.
I have a 1988 Chaparral 178XL with 3.0L Mercruiser Alpha One. I suspect I have this problem. I am unable to read the serial number so it’s hard to figure out what parts diagram to use. I should probably start with the correct repair manual. Any idea? I believe the s/n outdrive starts with 0C313 or 0C813. Engine placard says “Drive Unit” Serial No. 0C304120
Hi guys, thank you very much for the tip on how to install this bushing with your homemade tool. In the kit there are two bushing, i am wondering where you install the little bushing?
So when you are screwing the shift cable into the bell housing the cable is going to spin and the second person helps support the cable while it spins?
Yes. the second person is inside the boat helping rotate the cable while it is threaded in. This is if you dont fully remove the ll housing and are just changing the shift cable.
Here are two different seal kits you can order from Basic Power Industries, both kits come with the lower bushing (that looks identical) for the bottom of the bell housing. For Gen II bpi.ebasicpower.com/mm5/apps2/master/showparts.php?COM_NAME=Bell%20Housing&MODEL=5&IMAGE=1000000067&ITEM_ID=404 For Gen I bpi.ebasicpower.com/mm5/apps2/master/showparts.php?COM_NAME=Bell%20Housing&MODEL=5&IMAGE=67&ITEM_ID=6
Hi Ted, I have a Alpha 1 Gen 2. My shift shaft bushing and seal is flush on topside of the housing. The replacement seal I see in your video looks like the top portion reduces in size. Is this seal flush with top of housing shaft? If it protrudes, the lever assembly won't fit.
Hello Robert, Yes the old "gen 1" bushing and seal assembly is a one piece unit that is smaller where it is installed into the housing (larger on the bottom) where the seals are. The Gen II is different in that it there is a busing that is installed first then two back to back seals are installed afterward -it is not a one piece unit like Gen I. I will post a short video to show the difference to clarify. Thank for the question, I'm sure there are others with the same.
Yes, the installation for a GEN II bushing is: you install the bushing first, from the top pressed down, and then the seals are installed from the bottom pulled up. Gen I is a one piece seal/bushing assembly and gets installed from the bottom up.
I'm changing all of my bellows. I noticed that the new style is installed already. The boat is new to me so i dont know how long it's been there. Do these newer seals last a while or should I just change it out? Thanks and great video.
Great vid thanks Ted. Question if you have a sec - I purchased a new updated seal kit from Merc but the diameter on both the top and bottom (especially the bottom) is much bigger than the old and the upper shift shaft is loose, only held in place really by the tension of the upper seals. Have you run into this? Conflicting reports in forums of course. Thanks hope all is well
Bill, sorry for delay I 've been trying to get to measuring the Alpha one vs the Alpha Gen II seals, housing etc. for a new video post - just been to busy with boat repairs and teaching. It's on my list! Thanks for the message!
@@tedsmarinerepair8956 thanks...I’ve been searching around, ordered the seal kit by mercury and Sierra, both the same. Saw another note on sterndrives forum that mentioned that’s how it is, they’ve installed many, and they were a tech, so they say. I’ve installed mine, will update if I see any shift issues (probably next season / April (NW). Shifts fine at the moment. The upper is slightly bigger than the old style. The lower is loose.
@@bniwa If you have the drive off, and the shift shaft seal has never been changed (as far as you know) I recommend changing it. Parts are cheap and it extends the cable length considerably.
Quick question, I am about to start a bellows and shift cable replacement job on my alpha one gen 1, would you recommend I replace this shift shaft seal while I have things torn apart?
@@tedsmarinerepair8956 Excellent! For those that might be wondering, the same technique Ted mentions to install the new bushing can be used to remove the old bushing, you don't really need to pound it out. I used 4" 1/4 bolt with a 3/8 socket on top to push the bushing out and a 11/16 socket on the bottom to catch it with washers on both ends. I also used a little liquid wrench to help it along. Piece of cake!
@@tedsmarinerepair8956 Quick question, I got my replacement bushing. I noticed that after removing the old bushing, there was still a sleeve left in the hole that appears to be separate, but integral to the bell housing cast. The sleeve also looks brass, so when we install this new busing, just like the last, it will be a brass on brass friction install, correct? The new busing of course appears to have a much more robust rubber seal insert though.
Ted, we have had problems with the brass intermediate shift shaft falling down and the boat being of course unable to shift. Does this sound like a familiar problem? Any help would be awesome lol thanks
@@tedsmarinerepair8956 it's definitely the right part. I don't see any other way to install it, it simply came with two thin stainless steel washers and a cotter pin. There really doesn't seem like any obvious way to do a bad install, there's nothing to screw up as far as I can tell.
@@tedsmarinerepair8956 Yeah it's mercruiser 62104. it's a brass :shift shaft". I forgot that you probably work with multiple types of stern drives, not just a alpha one gen 1 like mine :D
@@Doomzdayxx OK got it! I've seen this a bunch of time. So what you need to do is put a SS (Stainless Steel) washer on top of the lower unit shift shaft and let it sit on top of the shift shaft seal that holds the shift rod up at the correct height. It is #23 in the image www.boatparts.ca/mercruiser/lower_gear_case.html If you have a 3/8" SS washer you can use that too. if they are thin you may need 2
