260 No Reverse

[msagro]

Well we got the new to us boat in the water last weekend, 55 and windy. All in all very happy with the boat, 1995 XB2003. I had never been in an Allison before and I must say I was very impressed with the ride and stability in whitecapping rough water, cruised up to 55 or 60 in these conditions, very nice. The only problem we had was no reverse, the wife says I should be used to that spending 15 years racing flatbottoms but it would be kind of handy to have in this boat. I attached some photos of the lower unit as I do not know what the lower unit is but feel sure that you guys can tell me by the photos. I checked the cable adjustment and it goes clear to the stop when shifting. I also checked it on the trailer and it seems to hold just fine but when you drop it in reverse with the engine running it will not engage, just grinds. Does any one have any ideas where I might start looking, one person told me that the shift rod might be off one notch, would that make sense? Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions. Matt

 

[GotMyAlly]

Very possible that the shift rod is off. Drop the lower unit. The shift rod is a small splined shaft sticking up out of the lower unit. While it's off, see if it will go into reverse. If so, it is just an adjustment issue. Click the shift rod all the way to FWD and put the shifter all the way to the FWD position.

 

[msethsmile]

1.that shift rod may be one spline off. 2. clutch dog gone south 3. reverse gear that hits dog gone south 4. missing a spacer 5. too many rpm's (less than 1000)

I don't think you have to completely drop LU to change spline alignment on rod.--It's close.

 

[Texan]

It isn't a CLE LU. My guess is that it is stock.

 

[K-DAWG XB 2003]

If its a cle its had a cone put on it. See the water supply hose on the lower. A cle dont have one of them stock. Looks like a stock 200 fleetmaster case with a cone on it to me.

 

[Texan]

If its a cle its had a cone put on it. See the water supply hose on the lower. A cle dont have one of them stock. Looks like a stock 200 fleetmaster case with a cone on it to me.

Didn't see the hose. Don't look like it has much of a cone on it. My CLE sticks out a lot more than that.

 

[msagro]

Ok, I just assumed that it would be obvious as to what the lower unit was so I will ask the uninformed questions now. How do I tell what it is, if it is a stock 200 fleetmaster is that a bad thing? Engine S/N is OD935907 but I have a feeling that won't tell anything about it either. I attached a few photos of the powerhead if that tells anything either. Thanks again for the help and for putting up with me not knowing much about these things.

If its a cle its had a cone put on it. See the water supply hose on the lower. A cle dont have one of them stock. Looks like a stock 200 fleetmaster case with a cone on it to me.

 

[froggy]

That looks like a fleetmaster, with a broken skeg (dangerous), that's been coned and probably low water pickuped by Bob's. I think the old fleetmaster water intakes are plugged because I see the water hose that Bob's supplies.

Get that skeg fixed/replaced or better yet get a new case and have your internals installed before you hurt yourself.

froggy

 

[ziemer]

Also, something to look for. A lot of guys will put the heavy duty internals into a stock case. One giveaway is the location of the drain plug. If you take the prop off and there is a drain screw at the rear of the carrier it's (at minimum) a high performance carrier. If the drain plug is at the bottom side of the front of the case it's most likely still stock.

As Froggy said that skeg is dangerous at higher speeds.

 

[msethsmile]

Many simply fill-in (bondo) the drain on a stock case if they go to the high-perf carrier which has its own drain. One way to tell is remove the hp carrier and look inside. I have heard (never done it) that the fleetmaster case is not the best to weld (skeg) onto.--funky metal.

If that's a fleetmaster, I would chuck it and save internals. If a 200 (best) or a cle w/ nosecone go ahead and fix. IMO. Never fix a crack along the torpedo.--replace for HP applications. I would fix a skeg tip though. Our local guy is the daddy for aluminum welding. No impurities. I've seen some nationally known after market guys do lower unit jobs where the welding was swiss cheese.

BTW-I'll be in Cameron,MO on Thurs.

Do all the components on the 260 match-up? Have some been replaced? i.e. Lower unit?

 

[msagro]

BTW-I'll be in Cameron,MO on Thurs.

Do all the components on the 260 match-up? Have some been replaced? i.e. Lower unit?[/QUOTE]

That is the million dollar question, I have no idea how to tell what it is,if something has been replaced!!! What would have been stock on a 260? The previous owner knew very little about the boat but I did find out today that the dealer I got the boat from had just worked on the reverse part and told me to bring it in and he would take a look at it, he said he replaced the clutch dog. It does have the hipo carrier in it as the drain is in the carrier behind the prop but also there is bondo on the lower unit, I assumed it was from filling in where the lwp was put on there.

 

[msethsmile]

Looked up your ser # on Mercruiserparts.com. Your # is in the second set of engines. Its probably not a bottom guided motor (good news). The four bolt main/top guided motors came out in 1993 1/2 (I think--somebody help). Yours is an earlier serial # in the second set. The sportmaster lower unit came out in? 95? Call Merc Hi-perf with your serial number 920-921-5330. They can tell you exactly what's on that motor. According to your serial # its not an offshore. Prepare to be on hold. I suspect the lower unit was traded out over the years. Hi-perf guts in a 200 case is the daddy (IMO) w/ cone and skeg mods. Superior to a sporty or a cle.

 

[msagro]

Looked up your ser # on Mercruiserparts.com. Your # is in the second set of engines. Its probably not a bottom guided motor (good news). The four bolt main/top guided motors came out in 1993 1/2 (I think--somebody help). Yours is an earlier serial # in the second set. The sportmaster lower unit came out in? 95? Call Merc Hi-perf with your serial number 920-921-5330. They can tell you exactly what's on that motor. According to your serial # its not an offshore. Prepare to be on hold. I suspect the lower unit was traded out over the years. Hi-perf guts in a 200 case is the daddy (IMO) w/ cone and skeg mods. Superior to a sporty or a cle.

msethsmile check your PM. I called the number and was told that it should have come out with a CLE on it and was also told that it is a 260 Offshore but the guy couldn't really tell me how to tell if it is a CLE for sure.

 

[ziemer]

msethsmile check your PM. I called the number and was told that it should have come out with a CLE on it and was also told that it is a 260 Offshore but the guy couldn't really tell me how to tell if it is a CLE for sure.

If it were a CLE it would have the inspection plates on the side by the cavitation plate.

Here's a pic of an empty CLE case. This one is a 4-hole with the larger inspection plate. Roughly 2" x 4". The older 2-hole CLE had a slimmer plate probably about 1" x 6" but in the same location.

 

[msagro]

thanks for the picture! What do you mean by a 4-hole? Not trying to be a pain just trying to learn.

thanks

Matt

If it were a CLE it would have the inspection plates on the side by the cavitation plate.

Here's a pic of an empty CLE case. This one is a 4-hole with the larger inspection plate. Roughly 2" x 4". The older 2-hole CLE had a slimmer plate probably about 1" x 6" but in the same location.

 

[h2oskiier30]

4 hole means water intakes on the bottom front of the bullet. Early model CLE's came with 2 hole intakes, later models came with 4 hole intakes.

I think 1994 was about the time the CLE's changed from 2 hole to 4 hole.

1992 was when Merc started using the larger bearing carrier diameter and larger "inside the housing" standard propshaft (1.25" from 1.125") in the CLE.

 

[h2oskiier30]

Here's what a serial number search pulls up on your motor:

Product Information
Serial Number: 0D935907
Model Number: MAR 7925241DH
Manufacturing Year: 1994
Description: 20 MID,RH CLE,OFF

I would guess from looking at that info, that everything on that motor is like it came from the factory other than the lower unit. That's a coned something, but I don't believe it to be a coned CLE.

 

[amosXB03]

Your lower unit looks like one done from Bob's Machine Shop, go to his web page, and compare.

 

[msagro]

thanks for all the help and info guys it is very much appreciated.

 

[msethsmile]

h2oskiier--
Where did you get that info?