86 125 hp force outboard

[i_finish_drywall]

I have a 1986 125 HP force outboard and when I get up to about a quarter throttle the motor kicks. It acts like the shift dog is vibrating from the forward gear to the neutral position. Then it hammers back into gear. It happens really fast and the whole motor kicks. I put another lower unit shaft in and it fixed it but not even 10 hours on it and it started the same thing again. Any suggestions?

 

[foodfisher]

Re: 86 125 hp force outboard

Rounded dog ears.

 

[i_finish_drywall]

Re: 86 125 hp force outboard

But that's the thing they look fine. They don't look rounded.

 

[chuck palmer]

Re: 86 125 hp force outboard

check your power trim it may have air in it and it is floating and not locking down, this will cause that problem as well and your motor will kick and go to nuetral.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: 86 125 hp force outboard

Any metal bits in the gear oil?

 

[stubtail]

Re: 86 125 hp force outboard

Have you re-checked the shift linkage rigging?

 

[i_finish_drywall]

Re: 86 125 hp force outboard

How do I check to see if there is air in the power trim? There is no metal shavings in the gear oil. I have a spare lower unit and I took them both apart and the only thing I switched was the little u shaped piece that clips onto the shift dog gear and the shifting lever. It didn't do it for about 5 hours on the water then it started again. Thank you all for the help.

 

[i_finish_drywall]

Re: 86 125 hp force outboard

What excatly is the shift linkage rigging?

 

[foodfisher]

Re: 86 125 hp force outboard

Lower unit shaft? You are talking drive shaft vs propeller shaft, right? If so my reading talks about the importance of proper shimming. We're talking +-.001". If all is ok, try biasing the shift rod toward forward ever so slightly. Be sure the interlock lever attached to to upper shift rod is aligned with the lower towershaft arm.

 

[stubtail]

Re: 86 125 hp force outboard

Shift linkage rigging is ensuring that the L/U is in sync with the remote control. If neutral is selected, the L/U should be in neutral etc. To check, remove the shift cable from the shift lever at the power head. By hand, move the shift lever full forward while turning the prop. When fully engaged, with a felt marker, mark the shift rod level with the leg (just below shift linkage disconnect for L/U removal). Move the shift linkage to full reverse while turning the prop and mark the rod again. Make a third mark equidistant between the previous two. This is the exact mid-travel or neutral, from a mechanical perspective. Reconnect the shift cable, and with the remote in neutral, the middle line on the shift rod shoud line up to the point of reference. If not, adjust the neutral interlock lever with the two nuts until it does. As Foodfisher mentioned, it might be wise to cheat on the forward side a little.