mercury 800 gears

[dragonrider]

hi all, have been lurking for sometime i have learnt alot so now i have bought my first boat a dory with canopy and above engine. I have learnt that its a 71/72. my question is i bought it with no reverse (having read here it can be an easy fix) with luck it will be so i just need a few pointers before i get stuck in. this is what i have found, its locked down in neutral and reverse in forward the prop spins one direction not the other in neutral spins freely in both and the first click past neutral (i assume reverse)the prop still spins free then pushing the lever down (full revs reverse) i get the prop clicking both directions....where should i look first....thanks

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: mercury 800 gears

Check the cable adjustment.

Then move on to see that the lower unit gear retainer isn't some how backing out.

It's also possible to have a worn shift cam or pin too.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: mercury 800 gears

Disconnect the shift cable from the engine shift linkage.

Move the shift lever by hand to forward, reverse and neutral and check prop rotation again. Agree that it sounds like the shift cable is out of adjustment.

Key in OFF with battery disconnected when playing with the prop.

 

[dragonrider]

Re: mercury 800 gears

WOW gentlemen i now have gears. had to take all the play up at the engine end because i cant get into the forward control (screws seized) is it just a cam? what problems might i encounter later?
on to the next question one side of the engine there is a bank of wires into a block from the bottom up is a white, red,brown, green, the brown wire has been removed and taped back to the loom. whats this foron the other side there is a capacitor/condenser not connected the lead says it should be to white/middle, any ideas what its foragain thankyou very much

 

[Chris1956]

Re: mercury 800 gears

That brown wire is likely the tach signal wire. For modern tachs it needs to be connected to one of the yellow wires from under the flywheel. These yellow wires are the stator which is AC voltage into the rectifier to charge the battery. You should have a big ugly rectifier on the side in the lower cowl. it will have three connections two yellow stator wires and a red wire with +12VDC on it.

It sounds like you could use a wiring diagram, or better yet a service manual.

 

[dragonrider]

Re: mercury 800 gears

thanks chris for the in depth answer. i agree i do need a wiring diagram/manual. which one do i get an where from, thankyou again a great site