1965 65 horse merc shifting reversed

[fishonwithme]

Had a problem with the shift shaft bushing leaking lower unit oil. In changing the bushing the shift shaft pulled out of the lower unit and the shift cam fell off-inside the lower unit- Did the work around by moving the whole lower unit around and got the shift cam lever back on to the shift shaft......Got all the stuff back together got the lower unit back on. Took it out to the lake and now when I throttle forward it is reverse and throttle in reverse I go forward. Do I have a problem where the shift cam is or where the lower unit meets the power head. I believe they were both in neutral when I met the l.u. to powerhead.

 

[emckelvy]

Re: 1965 65 horse merc shifting reversed

Very unlikely to almost impossible that the shift cam got flopped upside down, so I'd say maybe you just have the shift shaft positioned improperly.

Pull the lower unit. Move the shift shaft around until you find forward gear. In forward there should be approx 270 deg of rotational free play in the shift shaft.

Spin the shaft CCW until it stops turning freely. At that point, you're ready to shift to neutral. This is the correct orientation for proper shifting, if you were to install with both lower unit and control box in Fwd gear.

To verify, turn the shift shaft further CCW and you'll hit neutral. A bit more motion and you're in reverse. While you're from neutral to reverse, it may help to rotate either driveshaft or propshaft to help align the shift clutch with the gear.

Now, what you don't want to do is turn the shift shaft any more CCW when you're in reverse. There can be a "false neutral" in this position, and it's possible you may have found this "neutral" when you reinstalled the lower unit the first time. If you're at the false neutral and were to turn the shift shaft CCW, you'd pop off the detents on the shift cam and be back in forward gear.

When you determine the shift shaft is properly positioned, make sure the lockout cam is also correctly installed on the shift shaft.

That oughta Git 'er Dun, if you have any other problems let us know.......ed

 

[fishonwithme]

Re: 1965 65 horse merc shifting reversed

WOW, just a quick note to thank you for your time in responding to this thread. I really appreciate it. I am going to go and do this to se if this works and let you know afterwards. thanks again in advance
B

 

[fishonwithme]

Re: 1965 65 horse merc shifting reversed

one more quick thought. What position should I leave the control box in when I marry the two back together. And any thoughts on How to properly position the lockout cam(is this also the anti-reverse lock which keeps the motor in the water when in reverse)
Thanks Again Ed
Brian

 

[sschefer]

Re: 1965 65 horse merc shifting reversed

I did that once, took it to a shop and they said I needed a counter rotating prop. I left that shop without comment and haven't been back since.

The advice given is plenty to get you up and running but I thought I might add a little tidbit to keep you on track.

The gear case's natural condition is when it's in forward gear. The first stop (click) after forward is neutral, the second stop (click) is reverse and if you continue past that, you'll be back in forward again. This is due to the nature of the cam. That's what's probably happening so when you set it up this time make sure you start with the cam in it's sloppy state and not at the point where it's in contact and ready to shift to neutral.

 

[emckelvy]

Re: 1965 65 horse merc shifting reversed

I find it easier to have the lower unit in Fwd, since you can turn the prop slightly to move the driveshaft and align to the crankshaft while you're pushing the lower unit up. Otherwise, if you're in Neutral you need long arms or a 2nd person to rotate the flywheel to engage the driveshaft.

If you're in Forward you do have to be careful to have it in that position where you're Just Getting Ready to shift to Neutral.

If you have the 'later' style of shift cam, it just slips over the shaft and when you're in Fwd gear getting ready to shift to Neutral, the reverse lockout rod should be pointing at the middle of the shift cam's 'ramp'. Such that when the shift cam rotates further to Neutral, the flat spot at the top of the shift cam will block the shift rod from dropping down and releasing the reverse lock hooks.

You'll also note that the flat spot at the top of the cam is quite long, and will continue to block the lockout rod when you're shifted into reverse. Mercury really did intend for the motor to be locked down in both Neutral and Reverse, for safety reasons. You can imagine what would happen if you were running full speed and chopped the throttle back to Neutral! Up comes the motor right quick!

Of course this all means you've always got to have the control box in Fwd to tilt up the motor, and never tilt the motor back down with the box in Neutral or Reverse. This causes the lockout hooks to bind on the tilt pin and makes it very hard to shift.

Well, that's probably more info than you need to know but maybe that gives you some insight on the inner workings of the locking mechanism.

BTW if you have a set of brass shift cams that 'nest' in each other, the alignment is different. Let us know if this is the case.

HTH.........ed