Grinding noise going from in gear to neutral

[sdrdermdr]

I have a 2003 Maxum 2400 with a Mercruiser 350 Alpha 1. The boat starts fine and goes into gear perfect. When I put it back to neutral from either forward or reverse I get this grinding noise. When I put it back into gear the grinding noise stops. Any thoughts anyone. I'm new to boating and not super mechanically inclined so pardon my ignorance.

[mmwjr]

You have an Alpha drive, thus drive uses a dog clutch that chatters when shifting in and out of gear.

You need to shift with quick crisp movements to minimize the chatter which by the way wears down the clutch.

I.e. Stop granny shifting.

[sdrdermdr]

I know what I have. I was looking for a fix for it not an insult!

For those who care to know...I adjusted the lower shift cable. The barrel connector on the lower shift cable is pinned to the cable so it was not adjustable there. The lower Cable assembly sits on a slide rail. Its normally down. I brought it up a little bit and that is all the adjustment I needed. The grinding stopped and it does not stall going back to neutral anymore. Sweet! Back to boating!!

[mmwjr]

Originally Posted by sdrdermdr

I know what I have. I was looking for a fix for it not an insult!

For those who care to know...I adjusted the lower shift cable. The barrel connector on the lower shift cable is pinned to the cable so it was not adjustable there. The lower Cable assembly sits on a slide rail. Its normally down. I brought it up a little bit and that is all the adjustment I needed. The grinding stopped and it does not stall going back to neutral anymore. Sweet! Back to boating!!

I did not intend to insult, you stated that you were new to boating so I was just trying to explain how it works. "Granny Shifting" is an old hot rod term and was not intended to insult.

Glad you fixed it, enjoy your season.

[sdrdermdr]

Ok Thanks!

[Kevlar7r]

Mike does have a point though, the alpha requires a very snappy firm shift, as compared to some other drives.

[Skip R Maxum]

I have been told the same thing. Stop shifting slow and crisp movements.

[shrew]

While lack of deliberate shifting is the most common cause of this issue, there is still something to be said for ensuring the linkage is properly adjusted. Cables can stretch over time and adjustments can slip. These things happen.

My brother-in-law had a Maxum 2300 where he had adjusted his linkage until there was no more adjustment and only solved the problem by replacing the cables.