Boat wont reverse
 

At the lake yesterday, and halfway through our trip, I noticed I lost the ability to go in reverse. Had a full boat and just continued on the rest of the day and had a couple of people waiting at the trailer in case I ran into any issues, it was a little windy, made on it no problems at all.

Brought it home after the lake, but it was dark so this morning I began checking connections at the tranny. The merc system was letting me know there was some sensor bad, and take it to the shop if the issue persisted.

As I was looking, I noticed a loose connection. It seems the solenoid became disconnected and the nut for it must have hit the bilge. After using a jet hose to push everything around the bilge, I have not been able to locate the nut I need.

Im hoping some of you guys have the ability to figure out what part it is that I need to order to get the solenoid locked back into place. So here are the pics...

Uh......what year/boat/model/motor?

2009 Epic 23V 8.1L

that nut has to be in there..unless you pulled the plug and it fell out the drain, that thing has to still be in there. id look around the motor and see if it got hung up on something

Even if he drained it, that looks like a pretty big nut, definitely bigger than what could fit out a plug. Looks to me like it'd be about 1 1/2"+ in diameter. I was going to suggest getting a magnet stick and sweeping it in the bilge, but it's a plastic nut.
If you had more info, like the model of tranny, it might help the search for a replacement.

Zf 63

Im thinking the nut must have gone under the gas tank cause its just not visible anywhere...

It looks like you need the entire solenoid valve (12 V Electric valve 12 V) to replace it.
Part# 3312 308 069

Found it in the service manual for it, page 62-65
http://www.harbormarine.net/pdf/zf-r...3a-80a-85a.pdf

Also found it in the parts list here
http://jerrysmarinecatalog.com/files...s/page0193.pdf
as part
New part#3312 308 064
Old part# 501634

Phantom,

Thank you, I owe you a beer... Or 12... :)

How did you know which one it is? I look at the old and new and cant seem to figure it out?

LanceM

Wow!

Actually the more I look at the pictures, it looks like you have the new version of the solenoid valve, not the old version.

It is kind of tricky because they look so similar, but after spending the last 20 minutes looking back and forth between the manual pics and the pics you posted, it looks like you need the new style, not the old style.
From the service manual, it says you need
3312 199 063 , the Electric Selector Valve ON/OFF 12V - 26Bar

not 3312 308 069 like I originally posted as the old style. From my initial inspection, that's what it looked like, but now it looks like the new style is a closer match.

Personally, what I would do, if you have to order it online, just to save time, is to order both the new and the old style and return the one that it isn't, but I'm pretty sure it's the new style. If you can only order one, that's the one I'd go for.

If you are able to find someplace that has both locally, take in the old solenoid and have them match it to the right one. Actually if you find some place that has it locally, they may even have just the nut.

I haven't had much luck locating one online for you, but
it looks like the closest dealer to you for ZF tranny parts is

Performance Diesel, Inc.
12130 Highway 3, Bldg #2
Webster, Texas 77598

Phone: (281) 464-2345
Toll-Free: (877) 702-1234
Fax: (281) 464-8765

They can probably order it. I did find the pricing ranges between $38-148 for it on one site though, not sure how accurate it is. If you put the part number into google, you get a lot of results asking you to submit a request for a quote for one. You may be able to get lucky there, but I would check with the dealer of them first. Maybe your local boat dealer/marina might be able to order it for you as well.

There is always the redneck fix of zip ties, silicone, and duct tape if you get desperate... I'm sure you could find something to make it fit, maybe even a trip to the hardware store with the one from the other side might prove fruitful.

That cracks me up... I was going to post this this morning, so proud of myself lol... But I guess Im red neck! HAHA

Thanks for your help Phantom!

I'm curious if you know the significance of the nut being plastic? Would it effect it if I replaced it with a metal nut with rubber washers... I'm not sure of the effect on the solenoid? Or if there would be any?

Love it. I always keep a pack of zip ties, electrical tape, and RTV in every vehicle I have just for things like that.
Currently I have the lever that leans my seat up on my truck zip tied, the inside door rod connectors on my work truck, and at one point had the splash guard on the bumper of my car all held together by zip ties.
The door jam nut (what the door latches to) on my truck is cushioned for a tighter with electrical tape, not to mention little electrical fixes here and there.
And I once patched a tire that I ran over a screw with, with some RTV. I just pulled the screw out, coated it and the hole with rtv, stuck the screw back in and covered the screw with more RTV and let it cure for an hour. It lasted for the weekend until I got into the tire shop on Monday.

Might be redneck, but it works and can get you on your way. BTW, those zip tie and electrical tape fixes have been in place for about 2 years without issues on daily driven rigs.

About the nut, from looking at everything in the manual and the pictures, it appears that it's plastic to prevent over tightening and damage to the solenoid. It looks to be made for in the event of over tightening the nut will fail before the solenoid fails. Why this is it's design when you still have to buy the whole unit and not the nut itself is beyond me though. Maybe good engineering, but bad end user support?

Tested my zip ties yesterday... Held perfect and reverse worked!

Haha. I was gonna tell you zip ties but feared someone may call me too redneck lol

Lol, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. If they fail, you only have about 98 more in the bag on your boat right?

I