trans shifts hard

[brad minda]

The title says it all. Over the past year the transmission has gotten harder to shift into and out of gear both forward and reverse. The engine is a universal diesel but not sure of the trans. The boat is an 85. As a not I am not seeing anything that looks like a fluid leak.
Thanks, Brad

 

[mortyd]

try cleaning and lubricating the linkage on the engine. at the least, no harm done and it worked for me when i bought the boat and it was very hard to shift.

 

[victorhoisington]

besides lubricating the linkage as noted above, check the cable run for kinks, or something crimping the cable. On my H28 the cable looped through the aft locker and i sometimes had to clear things that were leaning against the cable or causing a crimp in the cable. The cable normally travels down the binnacle and then into a locker where it can be led to the engine room. You may need to do some searching to figure out the exact run on your boat but, it will be a good way to learn somethings about the boat and help you understand where to run the cable if you have to replace it

Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

[berner73]

Had a similar problem a few seasons ago, ended up being the Edson pedestal where the clutch lever passes through the pedestal housing. According to Edson, it's a common issue on older boats as over time dirt and salt collects between the pass through bushing and the metal assembly that connects the clutch lever to the transmission cable linkage in the pedestal. I should have called them first before struggling to figure it out.

Here's what I did to troubleshoot. Disconnect the cable from the linkage at the transmission and try activating F/R directly at the transmission. If that's fine, re-connect the cable to the linkage, and then disconnect the cable from the clutch lever at the pedestal (I had to remove our compass to gain access). With the cable now detached at the pedestal linkage, try moving the clutch lever as though you were putting it into/out of gear. If it moves freely, move on to troubleshoot the cable itself by trying to put it in gear using just the cable (you may need to secure the outer sheath w/ pliers or vice grips - be careful not to pinch it too much). If you can't put in gear w/ just the cable then you've found the problem. You can try to lubricate the cable or just replace it.

If the clutch lever was hard to move with the transmission cable detached at the pedestal clutch lever linkage, you'll need to disassemble it further and clean where the shaft passes through the pedestal (area circled in yellow in the photo below). Ours had a couple of small set/grub screws holding the assembly in place relative to the pedestal casting. Be sure to take a look for these before you try pushing the metal housing through the pedestal. Even with these screws removed, the collection of dirt and salt made it very difficult to separate the outside of the metal shaft and the inside of the plastic sleeve/bushing. Remove all the dirt and salt that collected between the two surfaces. I applied some dry powdered graphite lube on the bushing before putting it back together. Now reassemble and test. After cleaning, I couldn't believe how much easier it was to put the transmission in and out of gear. Night and day, hardly any effort at all. 3 seasons later, still works perfectly.

 

[whatfiero]

Yea usually cable

 

[Capt jgw]

As it developed slowly over time, I'd suspect the cable. If it happened suddenly, I'd look at the trans itself. Those cables don't last forever, especially of you don't lube them occasionally. As was previously said, disconnect the cable from the trans and shift it by hand. If that works, try the shift lever, it should still be stiff. Then disconnect from the lever to see if it's the lever or cable. Lubing the lever mechanism might fix it, but if its the cable, and it probably is, it's likely got corrosion and broken strands and will need replacement.
Motorcycle shops sell cable lubers that work really well. Lube the new one when you put it in and then maybe yearly after that.

 

[dj2210]

Had the same problem- replaced the cable and it works very smooth now

 

[jimmcgee]

Same problem last season. I squirted WD-40 into both ends of the cable and worked it back and forth for a while. Shifts smooth now. It's always best to start with the simple things.

 

[Randall Schmidt]

I may have a different issue. My boat shifts from neutral into gear on its own - unattended. I have a M-12 Universal 10 hp diesel and an edson pedestal. Separately I probably need to check the cables because it is very hard to detect an intentional shift from forward to neutral or vice-versa.