Home › Forum › Ask A Member › Electric shifting gearcases–why? › Re: Electric shifting gearcases–why?
Well, I’m thinking the electric shift was considered a convenience for the owner, kind of like power steering/auto transmission was in a car. Surely, it cost more to manufacture the electric shift models, so cost savings didn’t drive this feature. As far as reliability goes, no shift cables, linkages, clutch dogs or any of that stuff to wear/go wrong. The outboards went from the spring/clutch method to the hydro/clutch dog design when the thru hub exhaust gearcases were introduced.
And yes, the OMC stern drives only used the spring clutch method on their electric shift models. The lower unit for the larger V-6 V-8 engines was pretty beefy and reliable. In 1978, the OMC stern drives went to the thru hub gearcases like those found on the outboards. The shift system was referred to as "hydro-mechanical". Basically a conventional mechanical clutch dog set up with a hydraulic "assist". These units had the oil pump like on the hydro electric models, but it was mechanically activated by shift rod movement as an "assist". Eventually, the hydraulic assist feature was dropped in favor of pure mechanical shift, just like on the outboards. I’m guessing this feature was dropped as a cost savings.