1982 stern drive will not shift into fwd or reverse

[Rka001]

Unit is making a racket when I try to put it into either gear. Will not shift into gear. Shift cable assembly on engine appears to be working. Is it possible that shift cable needs adjustment? Or is this more than likely a sheared gear? What are my troubleshooting steps?

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 1982 stern drive will not shift into fwd or reverse

spline may have failed on the water pump impeller shaft that transmits power down from the upper gearcase to the lower. What are the symptoms leading up to this?

does the engine overheat in the lake at idle?

 

[Rka001]

Re: 1982 stern drive will not shift into fwd or reverse

Was leaving marina at non-wake speed. Gave slow accel and eng spun to hi rpm, like a sheared prop. I then began to hear a rattling type noise. Went directly back to marina (towed) so couldn't tell if eng was overheating. Started eng at home to flush only ran for 5 min and did note there was white smoke, steam like coming from the exhaust. Hadn't seen this before. My temp gauge is broken. One other note, before I took it out I started it with the ears and black oily water came from the prop exhaust for a moment or two.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 1982 stern drive will not shift into fwd or reverse

yeah, sounds like that spline stripped. common problem, and the reason you need to change the impeller every 2 or 3 seasons - so you can re-grease the splines
take it apart and you'll need an impeller kit and the shaft and hope the female splines in the upper are ok. The noise is a good thing - it means there's some spline left to grind

 

[Rka001]

Re: 1982 stern drive will not shift into fwd or reverse

Thanks Howard. I have never worked on an out drive but am fairly handy with typical mechanical work. I have the Seloc repair manual. Any reason you think I should not attempt? What specialty tools do I need?

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 1982 stern drive will not shift into fwd or reverse

no special tools for that job. Seloc "ok". Respect the shift cable. It is over $700 if you damage it. One way to protect the cable is to take the battery right out of the boat before disconnecting the cable.

Some folks don't detach the cable, but rather simply remove the lower unit and tie it off to the side and work on the water pump upside down under the uppr gearbox with the upper unit still attached to the intermediate housing. I've never tried that way.

 

[Rka001]

Re: 1982 stern drive will not shift into fwd or reverse

If Seloc is just ok is there a better repair manual out there? Who is best source for impeller shaft and kit?
Again thx for time and advice

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 1982 stern drive will not shift into fwd or reverse

factory manual better (ebay or ken cook publications)
I would get parts from an Evinrude dealer. The real stuff is only a few dollars more than aftermarket and it's way better quality.