2016 F350's wont go into gear - problem changes from port to starboard

[sitkaboater]

My boat is in Sitka Alaska and I have two F350's that have run perfect for the last 2 years. I've had the boat out at the beginning of the season and everything worked fine. I took the boat out of the water in May to have the local Yamaha dealer service both motors, then took the boat about 5 miles back to the dock where it sat for a few weeks. The next time we got on it I got a check engine warning, then the yellow light on the Port side shifter/throttle lit up and I could no longer shift the port side engine into gear. If I turn all power off and reset, the light would go away and I could restart and it would shift. After troubleshooting a bit, the problem then shifted to the starboard side. The starboard will shift fine the first few times into reverse, then forward, then all ability to shift goes away. Then I get the check engine warning and the yellow shift sensor light comes on. Again I can reset and I get a few shifts out of it, but then nothing. The problem as moved between the port side motor and the starboard motor a few times leading me to believe this is likely a shifter/electronic issue than a shift actuator issue on the engines.

I've checked all grounds to make sure they were good, I've taken all connections apart and reconnected on both the front and aft stations, I've sprayed PB where it looked like the bushing on the engines could have a little corrosion on them to loosen them up and I'm at a loss. I've had the SItka Yamaha guy (Garys Outboard) come out and take a look and he says he's never seen anything like it and said unfortunately he's too busy to troubleshoot it. He did download the trouble codes from the computer and send them to me which I then had my dealer send to Yamaha.The code is 155

My boat Builder Armstrong Marine is trying to get someone at Yamaha to take care of me but I'm stuck and cant get any help after being at this for over a month. The engines have both been stuck in neutral and unable to shift with me dangerously close to the rocks in rough water forcing me home on my kicker from 30 miles out. I unfortunately cant trust my engines so I'm beached for the time being.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[boscoe99]

Code 155 as noted is for the shift position sensor. Are you capable of doing any trouble shooting on your own? Do you have a multi-meter and know how to use it?
zsps.jpg

[zenoahphobic]

Both engines down at the same time, think that is rare. I'm impressed that you have a third motor (kicker).
Seems some finger pointing at your servicing mechanic.. what could he have done/ not done, seeing the engines did this immediately after. Was he too busy then and messed up?
Sorry don't really mean to have a "go" at him, but it is exactly how I would start.
To be sure my bet is on dirty connections common to both engines. Battery (s) always on top of list; how fresh are they, how fully charged are they, and have they been disconnected on terminals or through a battery selection switch. Might be worth tracing the positive(s) to the shifters and measure voltage and if it goes up a little when engine(s) are running, and follow the fault finding list above.

[Twin 350]

I have 2008 F350's and the Code 165 came up which is the LPS (Lever Positioning Sensor). My port size motor would engage going backwards but wouldn't engage going forward. Orange light would turn on. I hope my posts helps.

[sitkaboater]

Boscoe 99 I have wrenches but no voltmeter. What are the chances of something electrical going bad on each motor? I know its not impossible but has to be pretty uncommon. I could be persuaded that one motor is having a shift actuator problem and one has a shift shaft bushing thats expanded or something more mechanical. Or maybe its both shaft bushings? I think at this point I'm going to pull the boat out of the water and pull the lower unit off and see what I can see unless you have any other recommendations?

[sitkaboater]

Well my local guy didn't figure it out and said hes never seen this before but, apparently Yamaha has. They knew exactly what it was.... Shift Shaft Bearing. What I was told was for whatever reason, Yamaha doesn't lube these very well from the factory. You can give this an Alaska Bush fix to get going.

Take the best Marine Lube (Spray Can) you can find and buy 4 of them. Unload one can each above the shift shaft bearing in the back side of the motor and let it sit overnight. Then, in the morning take a number 3 screw driver and put it in the hole of the shift actuator and move it back and forth as hard as you can while your other buddy is spraying the lube over the shift shaft bearing. Do this for a few hours if necessary to break it loose. When the actuator starts moving back and forth an inch or two in each direction easily you've fixed it, temporarily.

'm having a more permanent solution done now. The upper engines are getting forklifted off at dry dock and the lowers are being taken apart to replace the $3 bushing. Make sure your dealer or mechanic adds some crazy lube to this when they reinstall it to prevent this from happening again, for a while anyways.

These engines had less than 300 hours on them and thats probably 200 hours of *****ing. Pretty disappointing between this issue, the flywheels and the gas consumption. No wonder they are discontinuing them.

Hope this helps someone else in the future!