So I purchased a 1988 stingray 222 ss with a 454 and a bravo out drive on it. The guy I purchased it from had issues with the drive a few years back so he stopped running it. For some reason he felt like it would be a good idea to completely disassemble the entire upper gear case so unfortunately this is the state in which I received it. I tried to pick his brain about the noise but to no avail. My plan is to put the drive back together and listen for myself. I've got the drive back together at this point but I am doubting the way the shift linkage is on the shift shaft/ cam assembly. In order to get the Allen head bolts in the cam and shift linkage it needed to be pulled out as far as it would go until one of the cams hit the casing. Once I got the assembly together it was extremely tight to make the shift assembly a 90 degree angle (netrual) as shown in the service manual. I guess I am just doubting this one because I didn't take it apart and two because I had envisioned that linkage going both in and out of the gear case which it will not currently. I was thinking netrual would be in the middle with the detent ball spring relaxed and foward and reverse with it depressed. Any help here would be much appreciated.

Anybody. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If he had issues with it something isnt right. Even if you put it back together correctly it doesnt mean its good to go. How is the shift fork?, cone clutch?, shimming?, etc. You could be missing parts, or have it together wrong too.

The cone clutch looks good from what I have gathered on this forum for what to look for. The clutch fork has some slight visible wear to it. I have not got to the input shaft/ gears shimming yet because I didn't get a retainer nut with it because my guess is he had to drill and break it out. There was some considerable play in one of the u joints so I replaced both of those and the motor was out of line. So I am cautiously optimistic after I remedied both of those problems that there is no noise but, if there is at least I can hear it and have a direction in which to go. The shift linkage just didn't seem right when I put it together. It is my understanding that there is a couple different variations of it as well so that makes it all the more difficult to figure out if it is correct.

Its not really easy to put a bravo in and out of gear without it running, shouldnt even do it. Maybe try it running but otherwise something isnt right

That makes me feel better about its assembly. I'll try it out and see. I'll report back on my findings. Thanks for the help.

Did you have the top cap tightened down when you tried to move the shift linkage.

Yes, it was tightened down.