Can’t shift into forward detent or get reverse

[lost in translation]

I have an Atomic 4 in a C&C 36 with pedestal shift and a friend left it in reverse for a week. My shift handle is stiff and so it remained in reverse after he shut off the engine even though there is not a detent in reverse.

The next weekend I found the boat did not go into gear in reverse and lost the detent to go into forward. The boat would only slowly proceed forward. It was as if the neutral region of the shift lever had become extremely large.

I worked on adjusting the collar tonight but can not get the fingers to engage with the cone, regardless of turning the color or releasing pressure on the 3/4 nit that controls the reverse tension. What am I doing wrong? I have removed the pedestal cable to ensure there is no complication there.

I’m attaching two short videos of what I see and welcome all advice.https://photos.app.goo.gl/cZzMUEHKUHCFQ9q5A

[jcwright]

Hello.

In the second of your two video clips, it appears that the actuating bar (aka 'cam') is not properly installed. A photo of the correct installation can be found in the following forum thread at entry #10:

http://www.moyermarineforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9304

Regarding your stiff shift cable and/or pedestal mechanism, beware that the sustained pressure this can apply in the forward position can lead to serious damage:

http://www.moyermarineforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10966

I hope these links help some.

Best regards,

Jack.

[lost in translation]

Jack,

Thank you very much. I realized the shift bar had become disconnected while waiting for the post to be approved.

Im researching now how to repair and the link you provided looks quite good for that.

Bailey

[Al Schober]

In addition to the reverse cam being disconnected, the fwd motion isn't going 'over the hump' and engaging the notch.
Recommend you disconnect you shift linkage from the engine, then get the transmission working properly with it's lever. Then you can work on your shift linkage.

[lost in translation]

I've reconnected the reverse bar and am finding that, just as Al noted, I'm still not getting the fingers over the cone for forward gear. The videos I showed were taken with the shift cable to the pedestal removed.

I can't figure out why I can't get the fingers to engage properly. It feels as if they won't expand enough or I'm at the end of my travel of the shift lever too quickly.

[Al Schober]

I recommend you back off on your fwd adjustment. Sounds like the fwd adjustment is MUCH too tight, preventing the transmission linkage from going into fwd.
Similar for the reverse adjustment - back it off until the transmission stuff goes to full reverse. This will give you full throw on the transmission input lever. Once you have full throw, tighten things up so they don't slip in fwd or reverse - this should NOT change full throw travel on the input arm, and will give you the max deadband for neutral.
Once this is done, you can play with the linkage to the pedestal. Do not adjust the transmission at this time.

[lost in translation]

Thank you. I was able to get the transmission all back together and working to some extent. I have the forward detent back and reverse is not tight enough.

I do worry that the reverse bar which runs from the yolk to the reversing band does not fit tightly enough into the yolk. When I engage in reverse, I can feel the transmission start to reverse. If I pull farther on the shift lever on the pedestal (to tighten the reverse band), the system looses friction and goes back to a more neutral setting. The load on the shifter reduces during this time.

If this is a reverse bar issue, has anyone ever bound the reverse bar into the shift yolk to make sure it stays attached?

I suppose the reverse bar could be worn over time and I need a new one. It looks fine to me with visual inspection.

Special thanks to Don's manual for the great pictures of the mechanics of the transmission. Very helpful to keep looking at and thinking of.

[lost in translation]

One more note: I noticed the shaft that runs to the shifting lever of the transmission has a little bit of play laterally. If the shaft moves to max left, the yolk risks losing its capture of the reverse bar/cam.

[lost in translation]

Here is a picture of all reassembled. After taking the picture, tightened the reverse nut to pull things together, but there still is risk of the reverse bar losing the yolk.

I wonder if the pin is worn? I would not think the reverse bar would lose much width over time.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/biQyvDtJGNPAvbWH7

[Administrator]

Backtracking a bit, so it was working just fine, and then suddenly it wasn't?

Bill

[lost in translation]

To go back, the system has never been great in reverse since I've owned the boat for a year. I have tightened the reversing nut to help twice and have seen some benefit there. I found that I could go "past" reverse on the shift lever at the steering pedestal. It made me feel there was a reverse detent though of course there is not.

With the system at that state, a friend left the shift lever in reverse for one week and then I could not get the system to go into the forward detent, either with the cable or after removing the cable and just using the lever. It was as if the neutral area expanded radically.

I opened up the cover plate and posted those videos above.

After those videos and some mistakes in loosening the adjusting collar so much that I needed to reload the clutch plates on the spline, I have the system back to where it was before I lost forward. Forward works well and reverse is difficult to achieve as I can go past the best reverse engagement and, if reverse is achieved, it doesn't support high power.

My next step is to tighten the forward adjusting collar a little more and also the reverse and see if that improves everything. I'm really not sure how I'm able to go past ideal reverse tension and wonder if that brace bar is separating again from the shifting yolk. While the work was a little frustrating from time to time, in the end I've enjoyed the learning and am looking forward to making it work very well.

[thatch]

Looking closely at your videos in post #1, it appears that the forward clutch-pack discs have come out of their drum. This most likely happened when the adjustment nut had been backed off of the threaded main shaft. You may be able to re-align the tangs into their slots and then tighten the slotted nut without removing the entire assembly.
Tom

[lost in translation]

That's exactly right. When I realigned the tabs and got the clutch discs back together, I could achieve the forward detent again.

Now just have the reverse issue described above.

[Al Schober]

I looked at your photo, and something isn't right.
I suspect the roller is missing. There is supposed to be a riveted pin holding a roller in that slot. If the pin shears, the roller ends up in the bottom of the transmission. If only the pin were replaced, the assembly could look like your photo. Take a look into that slot with a mirror - if there's just a pin (about 1/8 or 3/16) you've found the problem.

[lost in translation]

That would make a lot of sense. Is this the roller part?

https://moyermarine.com/product/reversing-gear-bevel-spacer-new-aftermarket-orev_02-1_386/