Drive Stuck in Gear -Help!

[Revd Up]

I took my boat out today for the shake down run. Everything seemed fine untill I was ready to put it on the trailer. The drive was stuck in gear. Got home and tried pulling the drive. Wouldn't come off . The slide that grabs the shift cable is stuck in the housing and won't pull out. How do I get the drive off without cutting the cable? I can't get into grab the slide, but maybe I need to try something different. Help!
Thanks,
Steve

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

You can try to rotate the prop by hand while some one else moves shifter. If that doesn't work you can drain fluid, remove back cover and move shift linkage there.

[Revd Up]

I will try that. What would make the shift cable slide stick?

[J.T.]

I will try that. What would make the shift cable slide stick?

Could be a screwed up detent ball/spring in the back cover of the drive.

If it has captains call/ silent choice, I've seen it where
the shift cable has been laying against the y-pipe and
melted the cable.

Worst case scenereo would be that the cable isn't stuck at all,
but that the shift cone is stuck into the gear.

If you take off the back cover, and take out the cotter pin
( item # 19 in the pic), you should be able to disconnect the
linkage enough to get the drive off

http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Show_...TER+COMPONENTS

[txriverrat2001]

Did you put it in gear at 1500 RPM or higher?? That'll stick a cone clutch. If not - it may have slipped enough to weld the clutch to the gear - that would really really suck....

[Revd Up]

Thanks for all the reply's. I drained the drive and took off the back cover.Found several shavings and small chunks. Slightly tapped on the shift lever untill it freed up and moved forward and got the drive off.
Late last year I was running on Lake Michigan in some rough water. Was throttleing while airborne and everything was great........ but do remember missing one time as the boat was going down and I was still going up. My feet were a few inches off the floor and I couldn't get the throttle back in time. That's what had to do it. Now I will take it in to get repaired ,as I don't have the tools or experience for this job. The thing that really sucks is I know it is going to be expensive.

[Revd Up]

Looks like I will be needing a new upper gear set ,bearings etc. One tooth off one gear, a couple of nicks out of the other.

[Geronimo36]

Hey, check out mercury's reman drives... It might just be the same price to buy one than to rebuild.

[shakennotstirred]

I bought a new one from BAM Marine for cheaper than my Merc mechanic was going to charge for a rebuild. Sounds like yours did the same thing as ours. Good luck

[txriverrat2001]

I've got two now I'll be tearing apart this weekend - one with a stuck clutch like yours, and another with a broken tooth on the driven gear.

Has anyone used any of the SEI drives yet?? Bravo style?? Thye only list the lower half currently- but for $900 and a 3yr no fault warranty - wtf??

[Geronimo36]

I bought a new one from BAM Marine for cheaper than my Merc mechanic was going to charge for a rebuild. Sounds like yours did the same thing as ours. Good luck

Sounds good, that's what I was suggesting here as well.

Sometimes when the bravo's blow up they distort the upper case and even after you do the rebuild it will never be right and have a short lifespan especially in high HP applications. Then of course, the mechanic is a d-bag and gets a bad reputation.

If it's a mild failure and fairly cheap to fix I say go ahead but if it needs all new gears and bearings or a new tower it can be cheaper to buy new instead of paying for the labor bill.

[Revd Up]

Thanks for all the replies. I did get it fixed and it was more expensive than I figured. If I have to do it again, I would probably look into buying a new or a merc. rebuilt one. Live and learn. Hopefully I'll be good for a while. Going to have to be a little easier on it in the rough stuff.

[Geronimo36]

Good luck and at least you know the deal for next time!