www.iFourWinns.com

2003 268 Vista Volvo Gxi-D w DP. I was out in the gulf & started hitting some good waves. Was throttling back & hit another wave that caused me to hit reverse at approximately 2000 rpm. Immediately shut it down. Restarted & now won't go into gear. Forward or reverse. What possibly broke? It's Christmas weekend too. So nobody is open till Monday.

Could be multiple issues...none of them "good".

Could be broken gears etc. in the drive.

Could be a spun engine coupler.

Could be spun hubs in the props.

What does it do, what noises does it make when you put it in gear?

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Current Operational Boats:
'04-Four Winns 180 Freedom 150 HP Evinrude
'72-Chris Craft Commander 31 Sedan Twin-350Qs

I would suggest checking the following:

1. Check both ends of the shift cable housing to see if they are secure. I did have the housing come loose from the bracket on the throttle quadrant at the helm. Mine came disconnected in reverse and stayed in reverse. Pop off the cover on the quadrant and remove the 4 screws attaching the quadrant to the helm. The quadrant can be pulled out without disconnecting anything else. Make sure the shift cable housing is securely attached to the quadrant. Also check the back end of the cable housing on the right side of the out drive in a hole that is about 1 inch square. It is always "interesting" trying to troubleshoot on the water.....
[img][IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c298/garybockman/Mobile%20Uploads/20151016_172445_zps9ocajvlp.jpg[/img][/img]

2. The next possibility is a little more "in-depth",.....literally. Inside the out drive there is a shear coupling connecting the vertical shaft in the upper part of the out drive to the vertical shaft in the lower part of the out drive. The lower part of the out drive needs to be removed to access this coupling.

3.Hopefully other gears or shafts have not failed.

_________________
Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

I pulled the shifter & it's connected. The outdrive doesn't make any noises at all. Absolutely nothing switching into forward or reverse. Engine seems to be running fine. Fires up easily & no noise coming from it. I'm going to try getting the boat out of the water today.

Doesn't Volvo use a driveshaft that is made to strip to save the upper gears and cone clutch if you hit something?
It is the short drive shaft that connects the upper and lower gears. You have to separate the upper and lower gear housings to see it.
If the splines twist or strip on this the upper gears will still be spun by the engine but the lower gears & prop will not.

First you pull the drive off and then you split the upper & lower. Ive done this twice on my Cobra and the Volvo SX is very similar. Id replace the water tube grommets and sealing o rings while you have it apart. Sometimes they won't come apart and I rigged up a way using all thread, bolts & nuts and 3 scissor jacks to get it apart.

Before splitting the drive look at the main drive shaft splines and the corresponding spline slots on the coupler (you need a bright l e d flash light and look in the gimble housing to see the coupler) to make sure they are not stripped.
If you do a search on my user name you will see what I rigged up to do this. I never have trouble getting the drive off but splitting it can be very difficult because salt deposits built up around one of the o rings. Salt water use but it happens in fresh too.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Here is a link from ebay to show what the shear coupling is. According to an on-line parts catalog, the P# is 3852268. This coupling is designed to shear at the groove on the outside surface.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-Penta-Spl ... 2d&vxp=mtr

One of the on-line Volvo service manuals is available through the link below.

http://boatinfo.no/lib/volvo/manuals/sx ... ve.html#/0

_________________
Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

Thanks for the info guys. I wish I was home & could take this apart & fix it myself. Unfortunately or fortunately I took vacation & brought the boat to Florida. I am at the mercy of a repair facility, if I want to salvage what's left of my vacation & use the boat. If the shear coupling is the culprit, what is a reasonable cost of the repair. The part looks fairly cheap from Surface Intervals eBay link. What would the approximate labor cost be on this repair? After they have it apart I am going to ask them to look it over real good & repair or replace anything that is questionable. I've had a suspicion about the ujoints or gimble bearing, it started making a small knock when I turn hard starboard at idle speed or around 1000 Rpm.
I am so thankful for this forum & to have the support you guys provide. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all.

IF.....you have a sheared coupling, the lower half of the outdrive should be able to be removed without removing the complete outdrive. I am not in the business, but I would guess that this might be able to be done within an hour or two.

IF..... the coupling is not sheared, the drive will probably need to come off to check the engine drive coupling and the outdrive itself. On an older Volvo drive friend had one of the vertical shafts twist off at a snap ring groove. This meant the drive had to be disassembled.

A sheared coupling or twisted off shaft will probably not cause any unusual noise. Some other modes of failure may cause unusual noise.

Hope this helps, and best of luck. Happy Holidays to you and your family as well.

Gary

_________________
Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

While you can remove the lower unit with the outdrive still installed; the issue is ground clearance. To re install you want the drive level in order to get the driveshaft & water tube gaskets lined up properly. I would not try to do this if you have to tilt the drive up for clearance. It depends on how close your skeg is to the ground with the drive level. So given that the drive should come off to check the driveshaft and u joints; Id say an hr to R&R the drive and 2 hrs to split the upper & lower....figure 3-4 hrs plus parts....

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uddmy0ske6lyg ... r.JPG?dl=0

Here's what I rigged up to split the upper and lower. A scissor jack goes under the front 2 bolts and one under each side of the all thread sticking through the hole for the trim rams connecting rod. Works like a charm. Just crank each one gradually and it pops off. This is an OMC Cobra but this will work on most any outdrive.

Lower unit with upper removed. The driveshaft goes in the housing with the blue paper towel sticking out of it. If you look closely, there are spaces for 3 orings on that housing, salt deposits around the lowest most one is what makes it get stuck on. The water tube grommets fit into the housing that is removed in this pic.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hsu59glgt405x ... t.JPG?dl=0

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I'm back in the water. Ended up being the splined sleeve shear coupler as you guys stated. This forum is great!!!
$536 for the repair.

Thanks for the follow up, and glad it was something simple like that!

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Great to hear that it was not something real serious (expensive).

Everyone has their driving technique. I try to rest my hand on the throttle quadrant while changing power settings whenever possible to minimize the effects of bumps. You may also be doing this, but it is something to consider if you don't.

_________________
Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

Some of the older shift controls do not have a distinct detent between neutral & Fwd / Rev. So it can be possible to shift from fwd to rev without stopping in neutral. Newer controls like the Teleflex CH1700 have a safer set up in that you can't easily go from fed to rev without stopping in N. Might be worth it to up grade the control.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Lou,
Not just older boats. On my 2009 300HP D4 powered 278, the factory fitted shift lever had no detent between F-N-R. No button to press to move it from N. The marina mechanic, who I know and trust as a friend, told me it was a lever they used to use in the 1980s on 5mph yachts

Eventually, the dealer/ Volvo UK changed the shift lever to a more appropriate one. Still no kill cord/ switch though. Plus the trim switch on the lever didn't work. Explanation? The EVC system "doesn't like sharing the same power supply as the shift/ throttle with the trim switch". A load of bollocks in my opinion. Stilll, they fitted a separate trim control panel free of charge. I think the original trim switch would have worked when the EVC control button was pressed ( as I have to do now with the separate trim control switch).

What hope is there for boaters in 15-20 years time when these fragile/ sensitive components fail?

My thought exactly. Keep it simple. I like my Stone Age (well 1970 tech at least) boat with contact breaker points, mechanical advance distributor and a Rochester Q-Jet 4bbl. Was good enough for us on our cars in the 70s good enough for me now on the water....

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II