Alpha one gen 2 drive shifting and engine start.

zaverin1

my last boat was a single v8 with a alpha one gen 1. Basically same thing.
my sundancer shifted smooth with normal alpha one clunck

i had issues with port and star forward and reverse gear engagement. 
I did start using a swift gear engagement method which helped but I never had chatter or partial engagement on my old boat. You would get a grind if doing it at snail
speed .
i took my boat to the hoist today to be hauled out and with wind I had to maneuver quickly.
anyway had port and star partially engage and it **** me off lol
it drop into gear but chatters or maybe  cluncking noise.
go back into n and then into gear and it usually engages with no issues.
sometimes it shifts flawlessly all day.
i am leaning towards lower shift cables being stretched?
i had water pumps done and drives serviced last spring. I might just do gimbals, cables  and all rubbers besides exhaust. I had exhaust tubes installed. They last longer but do make boat little louder.
besides gear Engagement issue boat never stalled going in or out of gear and ran like a champ.
only work was the drive service, exhaust tubes installed since one drive was missing exhaust boot.
engine alignment.
then I did star engine main pump because it was leaking and port starter slave  solenoid.
port and star fuel sending units.

this leads me into my second question.
when I started using the boat it was running 800 to 850 rpm at idle. Shifting still chattered lol so that's not it.
so I lowered the idle down to 650 or so.
maid my sync and rpm Gage's pretty much agree.
issue is once I adjusted my idle speed it made starting my star engine harder then the port. Port few pumps and fires up. Star few pumps then start then dies then pump few more and it starts up.
one thing I noticed is port or star engine won't start if throttle is applied. Neutral only. My old boat I could pump and leave throttle little higher for initial start.
i do notice some Initial smoke and looks like rich fuel exhaust that shows in the water. Once warmed I can throttle up in neutral and  all goes away. Engines oil levels are good.
 starting engines if they sit for hour or more is harder after I did idle adjustment.
They are quadra carbs mated to 4.3 v6 with elec fuel pumps.
fuel separator replaced this spring and back flow valves I checked when replacing sending units. Technically they should keep fuel in the line for easier start.
i haven't checked plugs or cap and rotors
plan on doing that next spring. Wires look good and like I said engines run good and boat gets to wot.
one other thing I noticed is my star engine lever is slightly off compared to port. Real difference is at wot where sync gage shows I need more kick from star and levers are mis aligned. Low and mid throttle is pretty much the same.
anway enough for one post lol.
i will
also replace steering cable since I get few tight spots.
it dis get better from use but will get a new one.

 
 

Stodge

The last boat I had with alphas had the kill switches on the shifters that would briefly kill the ignition when you went between neutral and gear.  I had an issue when the switch was loose and vibrated when the RPM were up.  It caused the engine to keep killing on and off.  If you're alphas are set up the same you may want to take a look at those.

Dream_Inn

Ditto what Stodge said.  The first boat I owned had an alpha gen 2 drive.  The kill switch may just need adjusting.  They are notorious for this and just do a google search, very easy check.  Of course, you won't know now until spring.

zaverin1

Well my engine never dies when switching into gear ? So ur saying it's not killing rpm enough 

Stodge

It doesn't "die" completely.  The idea is to make the engine stop going as fast so the gears can match up as you shift.  Basically there is a ball on the cable.  The kill switch is a small contact switch.  As you move the cable the ball pushes on the switch as it passes by.  If the switch is out of position or lose then it can activate when you don't want it to.  I my case my engine would stutter at higher RPM.  

Michael T

If it consistently drops the rpms between shifts it is probably the shift interrupter module (switch) doing what it is supposed to do.

Stodge

Michael T said:

If it consistently drops the rpms between shifts it is probably the shift interrupter module (switch) doing what it is supposed to do.

LOL that's what I said.

Michael T

....well sort of @Stodge, in many cases there is no "ball" involved, it is a SS arm with a nub at the end that runs over a cam. the proper term is a shift interrupter but, agreed, we are talking about the same concept - I'm just a little more ocd precise?

zaverin1

I will check the switches 

Michael T

Sometimes crud can get on the cam or switch area - depending on the model. I have heard that some can wear-out with time although it hasn't happened to me. I have fixed a number of them with cleaning WD40 etc. Good luck!