Bmax stuck in forward any ideas?
 

Today after a great day of boating I came into the launch ramp and I pulled the shifter to reverse and gave it a little throttle to pull the stern in and the boat lurched forward so I quickly shut it off. Unfortunately me and my father were not strong enough to stop the boat from running onto the concrete ramp!!!!!! Scraped the hull but not too bad. My question is what could it be. I have not removed the Bmax yet to inspect but I disconnected the cable from the linkage in the engine compartment and I can move it in and out with my hand very easily(the cable that goes into the drive, not the cable that goes to the shifter). I'm hoping it's the cable. Is it possible to be something more seriouse? Although we built this motor ourselves the out drive is pretty foreign to us. Could this be something in the gears or internal? Also how can I repair the scraped hull? It went theough the white fiberglass and I can see some black. It's a 98 active thunder tantrum so there is no wood in it

ouch, possibly cone clutch stuck. Call the Bravo Shop, he will inform you on everything you need to know. There is a cable that can hang up on the case I believe

You shut it off in gear? Move the shifter to try & get the neutral safety switch to let you bump the motor over and it may come out. Mine has stalled in gear & had to do this.

Sounds like a broken shift cable or something broken/disconnected further down the line
( link, lever, shift cam, shift shaft)

What I thought was a broken shift cable, turned out to be a screw backed out in the shift linkage inside the drive. It went through the drive, and turned it into applesauce chunks that we had to scoop out.

Make sure you are certain on diagnoses before you fire it up again.

Well it seems it can be anything. I'll see if I can't get into today before I go to work tonight. Hope it's not too bad since I'm out of cash after this motor build for this season. If it's a cable I have a spare!

Yes, it can be almost anything. I have had many a bravo drive get "stuck" in forward or reverse and it could be as simple as a linkage or more serious like a cone clutch or worse. I am having one of my Imco SCX drives rebuilt as we speak because of some sort of internal failure that mangled a couple of gears. You never know until you look. hopefully it is just the little internal linkage.

Thanks for all the replies guys. So far got the back cap off. All looks good. The "arm" I guess you would call it is all the way back which means it's in forward. When I push it forward it feels like the linkage on the cable is binding. I know if I go in the engine compartment on the side and disconnect the cable that goes from the linkage to the stern it goes in and out very very easily. I am thinking and HOPING that it is just the cable. I'll slide the Bmax back tomorrow. Unfortunately I have work tonight. Can't be boating everyday I guess

Being a Bmax drive owner I've had this happen numerous times, I can almost tell you for sure that the lower shift cable broke where it goes in to the linkage in the drive. It does this because the cable it not adjusted correctly. I would bet that the drive this happened to pushes the cable back to go in to forward. The cable is adjusted too long and the cable keeps bending right were it goes in to the linkage of the Bmax. Mine would break at the same place every time. This last time John P of the Bravo Shop, maker of the Bmax drive set mine up. I was doing it incorrectly and it now works perfect and shouldn't happen again. I would call John @ The Bravo Shop, he'll tell you how to set it up when you install a new cable.

Well thank you. That sounds like good news. The cable is a bit of a bear to re install when your putting the Bmax back on. I happen to have a spare cable. I do all of my own work because I would not be a boat owner of I did not because I do not have bottomless pockets. If and when I call the bravo shop are they of with giving "free" advice since I may not have to purchase anything from them?

John P will have no problem talking to you....super nice guy. I would definitely give them a call. If it's not adjusted correctly it will break again. You may need Bmax parts at some point in time and he is your man.

Well I have some good news. I took the cotter pin off of the shifting arm(I apologize I don't know the actual names) where it holds the rigid rod in and the goes back into the drive. Well I pulled it right out. It has a female threaded ?brass? End on it where that cylindrical metal piece slides into it. Here is the part I'm not to sure is correct. On the end of the cable coming thru the transom there is a brass "nut" I guess you would call it. It has a slit cut into it so it can slide over the cable then be tightened into the end of the rigid rod. I'm assuming that it may have pinched closed under pressure causing it to jump the threads and pull out?????? Should I use thread locker?? I want it to be able to come off again if need be. Is this right? What are your guys thoughts?

looks like you lost one of your nuts..................if Im reading right

http://www.bravoshop.net/index.php?m...oducts_id=1072

I've never had that happen. I just tighten the crap out of it, have never used lock tight. The drive will have to come back to install the nut though.

http://www.bravoshop.net/index.php?m...oducts_id=1072

I can't see that thumbnail for some reason. That link you sent me tho, on the end of it you can see that "nut". It has a slit down it to get it over the cable. That nut is what came out. Maybe it just wasn't tight enough.