1990 50hp Force gear problem.

[jlo2778]

Very new to forum but have found lots of great info here.
I have 1990 50hp Force that was sitting for years in someone's driveway. I replaced the water pump, rebuilt the carb, put new plugs in, and a couple of other minor things. When I start it up with the remote in neutral, the prop still truns slightly forward. If I then move the remote back toward reverse only about an inch or so, the prop makes it into neutral. Also, if I try to go in reverse, the remote is WAY too far back by the time it engages in reverse, then rpm's are so high it slams into reverse and moves the boat way too fast. I imagine I may have turned the prop when I had the lower unit off for the water pump and now the gears are not aligned properly? So what would the correct fix be? Take the lower unit off again and turn the prop in a direction and replace it again?
Any info would be a great help. Thanks.

 

[btroy]

Re: 1990 50hp Force gear problem.

Sounds like you are on the right path, however there is a cam that aligns the gear/shift rod. It sounds like it maybe off a tooth or two.

To correct this you will need to drop the lower unit again, on the front of the lower unit there is a rod that goes down into a connector.

The cam sits on the shift rod, I would turn it a tooth or two then bolt it back up and verify netural is indeed netural. It takes a little getting used to but once you figure it out you have it.

Now this only applies if it is this type setup. If its not then you may have an adjustment on the shift rod that you can adjust up or down.

 

[jlo2778]

Re: 1990 50hp Force gear problem.

Hmm...I will have to check out what kind of set up it actually is. Thanks for the advice. When I took the lower unit off for the pump, the shift rod seemed to swing/rotate freely. So when I put the lower unit back on, whatever position it happened to be in is the position it is in now. Also, after the lower unit is back on, there is a long nut and short nut that make the connection from the shift rod to the upper unit. Could there be an adjustment there that is needed? I thought that assembly would move when shifting from forward to reverse, but I don't believe it is moving at all. What do you think?
Thanks again.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 1990 50hp Force gear problem.

Your Force 50 will most likely have the shift rods joined together by a long hex coupler right outside the lower shroud. You do not need to disassemble anything. Later Force engines with Mercury lower units did use a splined shaft that rotated and to change this , the lower unit must be dropped.

Since forward is down, your shift linkage is too long, biasing neutral toward forward. Thus, reverse will not engage untill the handle is moved excessivly.

Loosen the locknut and turn the coupler about 1/2 turn at a time to bring the two rods together more. Do this until neutral is centered with the control handle in vertical position. Now double check that there is equal engagement in forward and reverse.

 

[jlo2778]

Re: 1990 50hp Force gear problem.

Wow! I would be ecstatic if it turns out that this adjustment is all that is needed. I am going to try this this weekend and hopefully the results will be favorable. Thank you both for the great advice.