I got my cables adjusted so that I could put it into reverse and I could put
it into the slowest forward speed, but any faster forward and it would hit
the kill switch. I havnt given up on adjusting the cbles yet!

Out on the water I also tried taking the kill switch off. This worked but
as you all said it wouldnt go into idle most of the time. I would have to
pull it out of gear and then put it into reverse. Thats a terrible method
so I put the switch back in.

I think untill I get a new cable or get these cables adjusted right I could
hook a switch up to the kill switch! I know it sounds kind of rediculous,
but I will put the boat in idle, flip the switch and then put the boat into
reverse. I would only need it around the docks anyways.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks,
Cameron

"Ree-Yees" wrote in message
...
Nope thats too much for me to handle.

Im going to try readjusting that lower cable so that reverse works when Im
down at the dock today to see how forward does. Ive found that the boat
seems to act differently in the water versus in my driveway with the hose.

--C

"Joe Blizzard" wrote in message
...
"Ree-Yees" wrote
Is it an easy task to replace the cables yourself?

I think he's talking about the lower cable, which is no small task to
replace. There's no rocket surgery involved, but it requires removing
the
drive assembly from the bell housing, among other things.

I worked on adjusting both cables and got it to where it will go into
forward all the time and reverse half of the time. I also installed a
switch to turn off the kill switch. So now when reverse fails me I flip the
switch and shift form idle right into reverse :-)

--Cam

Cam,

Your doing all these things and you haven't replaced the drive shift
cable? I don't mean to sound rude, and I may be wrong, but I think your
wasting tremendous ammounts of time with your jury rigging, and just
setting yourself up for some big mechanical problems down the road. In
addition when you do replace the drive shift cable, everything else is now
out of adjustment.

I've had the same problem, and the general consensus from a certified
mercruiser mechanic, and a few web boards, is this drive shift cable was
the main cause of most Alpha shifting problems.

When an alpha has problems shifting, the first thing to check is the
distance between the barrel and the end of the shift shaft. I think it
should be 6", but check the manual to be sure. It should ALWAYS be this.
Period.

Next remove the drive shift cable from the shift plate and see if you can
manually push and pull the assembly to see if you can *EASILY* lock
between forward and reverse gears. If you can't do this, don't dick
around with anything else, replace the &#@!ing cable!

The cable is less then $70.00 for a new one and not that hard to install.
I think most yards will charge another $150 labor, pennies as far as boat
work goes.

Or stany on the course and make do with these jury rig repairs unto your
bad shift cable really craps out and leaves you at the mercy of wherever
you are and need a repair, or worse a failure which causes damage to your
drivetrain, or someone elses boat because you can't maneuver.

Whether you decide to replace this cable or not. Good luck on the boat.

Sincerely,

Bob Dimond


In article , "Ree-Yees"
wrote:

I worked on adjusting both cables and got it to where it will go into
forward all the time and reverse half of the time. I also installed a
switch to turn off the kill switch. So now when reverse fails me I flip the
switch and shift form idle right into reverse :-)

--Cam