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4.3 Mercruiser/ Alpha One Stalls when put into gear

T

Tool

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Last fall I was gifted an older boat from my parents that hadn't been used for a number of years, I don't know how many but some where 6-10 years I would guess.

Its a Regal bowrider with a 4.3L Mercruiser I/O
Although it was stored indoors it has has some corrosion issues with wiring and some of the mechanisms.

I got it running ok, but sitting in the shop with it running on the ears, it immediately stalls when you put it into gear, forward or reverse. It's idling at 850-900 RPM

On further inspection I find that the little "interrupter" microswitch which is meant to momentarily stall the engine so it goes in and out of gear is staying stuck in the closed position and therefore killing the motor.
 
Yep, I'm afraid that is likely correct, I was hoping to free them up if I could.

Anyone have any advice on howe to go about that?

If I disconnect the switch should I see if the prop will spin with it in gear?

A lot of things on the old girl have been seized or sticky from sitting. It was working 100% when parked. But that was a while ago....
 
IF it is the lower shift cable binding up, the best repair is to replace it...anything you can do to it is only a band-aid.

FWIW, the interrupter switch, when functioning correctly, only closes when shifting out of gear...not going into gear...

And I'm pretty sure your idle speed is set too high...could have been an attempt at 'fixing' the cutting out issue you described...
 
It's an Alpha one gen 1

Talked to the dealer today, they said figure a minimum of 4 weeks and a minimum of $1,000

Sigh....

But time spent tearing this thing apart could be much better spent doing a lot of other jobs that I have to do.

If I could free it up without tearing it apart would be so much better, I don't think I want to commit the time to tearing the outdrive to pieces doing the bellows, gimball bearing etc which should be done when you have the outdrive off.
 
Is there somewhere I should be putting penetrating oil on the shifter on the outdrive or anything else I might try before I just take it to the dealer?
 
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