Shaft spin

[Sailorchris]

Still diagnosing and trying to figure out my low RPM issues..

I have a question. In neutral with the engine off I should be able to turn the shaft by hand correct?

In neutral with the engine running should the shaft be turning on its own?

[Dave Neptune]

When in neutral you should be able to spin the shaft by hand but not in forward or in reverse when pressure is being applied to the band.

When the engine is idling in neutral it will also spin if the packing is not to tight. The friction of the oil against the clutches will drive the shaft slowly, IE NORMAL for this type of trans.

Dave Neptune

[Sailorchris]

I cannot spin it in neutral with the engine off, however when I start the engine it immediately starts to spin as I would expect iif it was in gear... Constant spin

[JOHN COOKSON]

Neutral can be elusive on the A4. It is somewhere between forward and reverse. When the trany is in neutral the cockpit lever may be a position that does not seems correct. When the trany is in neutral it may make a sort of growling noise. This is normal.

ex TRUE GRIT

Edit: Try disconnecting the shift cable and shift by hand on the lever. See if you can find neutral this way. The cable adjustment may have slipped. A usual cause is the outer cable cover may have come loose.

[Sailorchris]

I am absolutely in neutral... Shaft spins like in gear and I can't spin when engine is off... I think I may be binding somewhere

[Dave Neptune]

What John says is good info. Neutral in the direct drive is rather illusive and the adjustments will fix it. First try moving the trans lever back and forth lightly to see if the shaft slows and perhaps changes direction as you move to reverse.

The trans should lock into forward with a definite click when locking into the "detent" which holds it in forward. As you disengage forward and move to reverse there should be a sweet spot where the shaft slows or even stops spinning before reversing as the reversing band tightens, this band requires pressure from you to maintain engagement.

If you have no relief when moving the shifting lever at the trans with the cable disconnected it is trans adjustment most likely. I'm guessing that it may be adjusted to tight which makes for little or no true neutral. Some spinning while idling in neutral is normal but you should be able to spin the shaft by hand when not running in neutral.

Dave Neptune

[ndutton]

I am absolutely in neutral...

I'll repeat what Dave and John said but in different words. There is no neutral so you can't be "in" it. There's forward and there's reverse. Properly adjusted the shaft stops spinning when you're out of one and not yet in the other.

[Easy Rider]

And what about the packing nut on the shaft mentioned earlier by Dave? Did you check that for being too tight? That's an easy check and would at least narrow the problem down to shaft or engine.

[edwardc]

I've found that if the packing nut is too tight, the temp of the packing gland quickly soars to over 200 degrees, way too hot to touch. A properly packed and adjusted gland should only be about 10 degrees above the ambient temp of the seawater.