[jasfiveo]

I have a 1994 Talari 220z with 454/Bravo III. I drove it Thursday after replacing the impeller housing and it ran great. I used forward/reverse several times with no issues. I went to start it(shifter appeared and felt like it was in neutral) Saturday and it lunged forward. Not a good feeling. I tried to immediately put it in reverse (so I didn't smash the Malibu in front of me) and it surged forward even faster. No neutral or reverse. Also it should have not started in gear (big safety issue). I replaced the upper shifter cable a couple of years ago. I manually tried to move the upper and lower cables in the engine bay while my friend attempted to turn the prop. No luck. Any suggestions? After doing some research it seems like it could be several different things. Just looking for somewhere to start.

[Zackattack]

WOW, that doesn't sound fun at all. I want to know what you find. Sorry I don't have the answer though.

[MariahMan]

I'm not sure i even want to ask this, but here goes.

Did you get it stopped in time to avoid the Malibu?

[jasfiveo]

I was able to avoid the Malibu. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing!

[DFZ272]

Do you have dual sticks on your throttle quadrant(one for shift,one for throttle) or a single lever? I would start with the cables. It is possible that the shift side, probably on the control lever end came loose. Or shift cable could be broken. Have you tried to start it in gear before you had this problem? Are you sure the neutral safety was working properly before? Either the neutral safety is stuck , out of adjustment, or somebody disconnected it. Also there is a shift interrupt circuit that momentarily cuts off the distributor when you put the boat in gear. If this is disconnected it can cause the boat to stick in gear, damage the gears in the lower unit, or over stress the shift cables. Hope this gives you a starting point. Keep us posted
Happy Boating
Dan

[tcwlsn92]

I had the same problem it was the shift cable. I had to have it replaced.

[jasfiveo]

Well I got the boat checked and got the worse possible news. The gears in the upper unit are shot. I will need to have it rebuilt and it is going to be mega money. The props also need to be reconditioned because they have been contributing to extra wear on the drive. My question is has anyone had this done and how much money did you pay. I also looked at purchasing a remanufactured one (from Jasper marine) which has a two year warranty. Man this is painful. Boats....a love/hate relationship.

[Mariah on the bay]

I was gonna say that exact thing sounds like the upper clutches mine did the same thing..just a long way from home so I had to add 500 dollar sea tow bill into that equation.. I ordered a brand new but leftover unit out of texas..seems boat manufacturers buy in bulk but at the end of the production year they sell them off.. I think the name is victory marine cost me 3 grand ish with shipping to Va as opposed to 6 grand from dealer her...sorry for the bad luck