2008 247 LSV forward and reverse gears won't engage

[jsharp]

Hey everyone, 

We have a 2008 24 LSV Wakesetter. Last weekend on the lake, we had a surfer behind the boat and no issues all morning. I stopped to swap riders so Ishut off the boat. When I started the engine again there was no problems, however when I went to put the boat in gear to accelerate forward nothing happened (no forward movement). The engine revved, but the boat would not go forward nor would it reverse either. I lifted the back middle cushion and plastic box underneath to see the transmission and I could hear a slight clicking in the transmission assembly when I revved the engine. I can put the throttle in any position and the boat will remain in neutral, but the engine speed increases/decreases as I move the throttle lever.

We were then towed back to the dock, and we trailered the boat. We inspected the prop and it is in good shape and still in place as well as the shaft. I can put the throttle in any position, but the boat stays in neutral. (the engine speed increases)

Does anybody have an idea what the issue could be? 

Thank you all very much for your time and answers!

[BlindSquirrel]

Couple things to inspect. First would be the transmission fluid. Is it full? What color is it? Not sure on that year, but is there a transmission linkage from the throttle? 
 

[formulaben]

51 minutes ago, jsharp said:

I can put the throttle in any position, but the boat stays in neutral.

Not sure if you have shift-by-wire or not, but assuming it is a cable did you check to see if the cable lever at the transmission is moving with the helm lever? 

If it is shift-by-wire then you should be able to check the wires on the solenoids on the transmission.

[JL5]

quick search states that it's shift by wire. 

[csleaver]

Check the level and condition of the fluid.  See if a magnet picks up a significant amount of metal shavings to see if there is clutch material in the fluid.

Check for power and ground at the Ahead and Astern connectors on the transmission shift solenoids to see if there is a problem with the shift throttle controller.

Check the engine flywheel drive plate for damage to see if the engine is not turing the transmission input shaft. 

[jsharp]

Thanks for everyone's replies. We took the boat to the Malibu dealer here locally (called a few other shops and they said they didn't want to work on a Malibu transmission problem) and without a lot of explanation they said the transmission has failed and that they need to replace the transmission altogether. 

Can a transmission just "fail" completely in the 45 seconds from when someone comes in the boat from surfing and then the other person jumps in the water and is ready to go?  

[Steve B.]

Not likely. Exactly what was their diagnosis?

[JL5]

I wish I was more knowledgeable, but I don't believe that it is the transmission itself going by what you have said. If you have clean tranny fluid at the proper levels, without any prior issues at all, mechanical failure just doesn't seem possible. Knowing that it is shift by wire, it is most likely something electronic. Electronics will fail without warning, mechanical items will give some warning with sounds, feel etc. 

[westcc1827]

With information provided its difficult to diagnose but here's a few ideas:

• Transmission fluid level is the quickest/easier check just to ensure it has enough fluid to engage the clutches.
• Ensure the shift cable attachment bolt is tight on the 'shift arm' at the transmission. Typically, there is one bolt that ensures the clamp mechanism is tight onto the transmission shift arm. I've seen where that is loose and simply spinning on the transmission shift arm. If you find this bolt loose you will have to properly align it before retightening. I recommend you have someone shift the transmission at the helm (boat off) and you watch how the shift cable/arm operated.  
• The engine torque plate (dampening plate) is somewhat of a sacrificial part designed to protect the transmission. I would be surprised if this failed and it not be very clear to you that something happened. Typically this happens at speed when the prop stops quickly (i.e. hit something) or they fail sometime from age related failure mechanisms. Either way, I would not expect this failure while the boat was off.