I own a 1987 Sea Ray seville 19' with a 175 mercruiser Alpha One I/O and
lately the motor won't engage the forward drive, the engine will rev up
but won't engage, well it will but it takes about 10 or more attempts and
then when it does kick in it does so in a violent manner, reverse will
engage every time but you can't go to fast or it will die. I was just
wondering if anybody out there had any proffessional opinions as to what
the problem may be and if it will be costly to fix.

You need to adjust your shift cables. They may be worn or streached beyond
usable i fthey are original. Get the service manual as the adjustment is a
little complicated and it will walk you through it.

"ray87" wrote in message
lkaboutsportsnetwork.com...
I own a 1987 Sea Ray seville 19' with a 175 mercruiser Alpha One I/O and
lately the motor won't engage the forward drive, the engine will rev up
but won't engage, well it will but it takes about 10 or more attempts and
then when it does kick in it does so in a violent manner, reverse will
engage every time but you can't go to fast or it will die. I was just
wondering if anybody out there had any proffessional opinions as to what
the problem may be and if it will be costly to fix.

It could also be a problem with your interuptor switch.

The interuptor switch only actvates to get alphas out of gear. Going
into reverse or forward does not activate the interuptor switch.

The gear design uses the thrust from the engine to force the gears to
stay fully engaged. The interuptor stalls the engine long enough to
overcome that effect when you pull it out if gear.

His stalling problem is probably that the cable is misadjusted or
streched so much that it is causing extra tension on the cable housing
and activating the interuptor switch.

N.L. Eckert wrote:
It could also be a problem with your interuptor switch.

"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
ups.com...
The interuptor switch only actvates to get alphas out of gear. Going
into reverse or forward does not activate the interuptor switch.

The gear design uses the thrust from the engine to force the gears to
stay fully engaged. The interuptor stalls the engine long enough to
overcome that effect when you pull it out if gear.

That's true under normal operating conditions. When the cable or shift lever
bind up, any movement of the shift will cause the interrupter to react as if
you were pulling out of gear. Thus the engine stall.
Jim

But the primary complaint is that it won't go into forward gear and that
suggests that the cable is stretched or needs adjustment. Also that it goes
into reverse and then stalls when he tries to accelerate in reverse. That
is usually also an adjustment issue. It sounds like his interupt switch is
fine. His cable needs adjusting or replacing.

"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...

"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
ups.com...
The interuptor switch only actvates to get alphas out of gear. Going
into reverse or forward does not activate the interuptor switch.

The gear design uses the thrust from the engine to force the gears to
stay fully engaged. The interuptor stalls the engine long enough to
overcome that effect when you pull it out if gear.

That's true under normal operating conditions. When the cable or shift
lever bind up, any movement of the shift will cause the interrupter to
react as if you were pulling out of gear. Thus the engine stall.
Jim