Bravo 3 no foward gear.

jhofmann

Picked up a 2000 Rinker Fiesta Vee 242 with a Mercruiser 5.7 EFI Bravo 3 drive. Tested it in the water for a half hour in November with no problems before winterizing. Just went to take it out for the first real cruise, backed away from the dock, shifted to forward and nothing. Drive goes in and out of reverse no problem, The cables on the engine move when shifting into forward, but no forward gear. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Black_Diamond

I'd start with cable adjustments. Check at the shifter for a start. Was the outdrive off for servicing over the winter?

jhofmann

No, the outdrive was left on, and I disconnected the cable at the adjuster and moved it all the way and still could not engage forward gear. More discouraging news, I just pulled the outdrive off and the driveshaft bellows are full of rusty water, the u-joints are rusted, and the bearing inside (gimbal bearing?) I could not turn by hand. 

212rowboat

Ouch...

You can open the vent on the drive, and insert a telescopic magnet, and see if your gears are chewed, evident by chunks of metal. Also, and at the same time, you can inspect the gear oil and look for milky appearance, suggesting water infiltration..

These two circumstances aren't necessarily related.. it just suggests the prior owner may have been lax on maintenance.. it could be as simple as a broken shifter seat thingy, which I'm pretty sure is the proper name for that thing. :-) ... It's where the cables connect.

You're still gonna have to address the bellows and bearings... But this doesn't mean your outdrive is toast.. it may just mean the mechanisms, specifically the throw out lever (again, a made up name) is corroded and also needs replacement.

Best of luck, man.. I'm sorry to hear of your troubles.

Black_Diamond

Ouch. Drain some oil from the outdrive: look for metal pieces and a whitish color (means water got in the outdrive. Either means you need the drive overhauled. Might be worth checking the coupler too.

212rowboat

Oh.. I can't read.. :-) you said you pulled the outdrive....

Can you turn the prop while lever is in gear and see input shaft turn?

jhofmann

The outdrive fluid looks good, dark blue with no sign of white or milky colors.

212rowboat

That is encouraging.. spin that prop while it's in gear and see if the input shaft turns.. you may be purty lucky.. :-)

Black_Diamond

With the drive off, try moving your shifter again and have someone watch the cable move at the outdrive. Then try at the outdrive too, your shift linkage might just be froze or came undone. See pics.

jhofmann

Thanks for all the info, i'll check the cable connection.

Dream_Inn

oh yes, I had mine stuck in reverse 2 weeks ago.  BD's drawing is a good place to start.  My issue was the shift cable.  Good luck and let us know what is found.

Michael T

I have seen that exact shift cable fail on a number of friends boats. Just a time/wear factor. I think Mercury has a newer design availavle that has a blue dot on the cable end, It is supposed to be more robust. My money is on that cable being loose, frayed, stretched or partially hung-up. Good Luck I think this may end fairly well for you. MT

jhofmann

Thanks for all the help, the problem was the shift cable! Wear, or contact with the driveshaft wore a hole through cable housing, so when I "pushed" the cable to engage forward, it would push out through the hole. Again thanks for the help.

Michael T

Not cheap, but a lot better than a blown drive. I had my fingers crossed for you! :-) MT

Dream_Inn

hofmann, your first cable was ran incorrectly (happened to me, but marina/mechanic took care of it).  Hopefully this one was not installed the same way.