First, I'm a newbie so be gentle...
My Johnson 48hp 1990 is stuck in forward gear only. Don't know how to get it to work properly and could really use some direction.
History: Took the boat out of the water (where it had be for 2 years in our fresh water spring fed lake). Did this to fix a long standing pontoon leak. (BTW, fixed with with marine epoxy and a couple of cans of that spray stuff they put on screen door bottom boats). Anyway, the boat sat on the trailer throughout the winter. I did NOT change the LU oil. Probably should have but I don't have alot of boat motor knowledge. This is the first boat I've ever owned.
I'd had some problems with reverse so I adjusted the linkage cable to help it go into reverse gear. Previously, it's like it would "slip" when I placed it in reverse. Almost like it wasn't fully seated. I had lived with the fact that I only had Neutral and Forward since I got the boat 2 years ago.
Early this spring, I launched the boat. It seemed to go into reverse alright (not great but better). Once clear of the launch, I shifted to neutral, then to forward with no problems. I ran the boat back down to my dock. As I approached the dock, I shifted to neutral, then to reverse. That's when things went horribly wrong. The boat came out of gear and wouldn't go into either reverse or forward. I drifted into my dock, tied off and shut down.
When I restarted [with the shifter in neutral], the boat was already in forward. If I shift into reverse - the boat goes forward. Shift into neutral - stays in forward.
What did I do wrong? I've since returned the linkage back to where it originally was (I didn't adjust it much).
Note: I was able to shift it into neutral by disconnecting the linkage cable and "pull" on the linkage till I heard/felt it go into neutral. However, if I shift into forward/reverse, it gets stuck in forward again.
Could this be a "shifter wire" problem I read about earlier? Dunno if this is a hydro-shift or electric shift.
Any help is GREATLY appreciated. I'm just trying to determine if this is a quick fix or if I need to haul it to a repair shop.
Thanks,
Red
My Johnson 48hp 1990 is stuck in forward gear only. Don't know how to get it to work properly and could really use some direction.
History: Took the boat out of the water (where it had be for 2 years in our fresh water spring fed lake). Did this to fix a long standing pontoon leak. (BTW, fixed with with marine epoxy and a couple of cans of that spray stuff they put on screen door bottom boats). Anyway, the boat sat on the trailer throughout the winter. I did NOT change the LU oil. Probably should have but I don't have alot of boat motor knowledge. This is the first boat I've ever owned.
I'd had some problems with reverse so I adjusted the linkage cable to help it go into reverse gear. Previously, it's like it would "slip" when I placed it in reverse. Almost like it wasn't fully seated. I had lived with the fact that I only had Neutral and Forward since I got the boat 2 years ago.
Early this spring, I launched the boat. It seemed to go into reverse alright (not great but better). Once clear of the launch, I shifted to neutral, then to forward with no problems. I ran the boat back down to my dock. As I approached the dock, I shifted to neutral, then to reverse. That's when things went horribly wrong. The boat came out of gear and wouldn't go into either reverse or forward. I drifted into my dock, tied off and shut down.
When I restarted [with the shifter in neutral], the boat was already in forward. If I shift into reverse - the boat goes forward. Shift into neutral - stays in forward.
What did I do wrong? I've since returned the linkage back to where it originally was (I didn't adjust it much).
Note: I was able to shift it into neutral by disconnecting the linkage cable and "pull" on the linkage till I heard/felt it go into neutral. However, if I shift into forward/reverse, it gets stuck in forward again.
Could this be a "shifter wire" problem I read about earlier? Dunno if this is a hydro-shift or electric shift.
Any help is GREATLY appreciated. I'm just trying to determine if this is a quick fix or if I need to haul it to a repair shop.
Thanks,
Red