Engine stalls in reverse

katefh

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Joined
Aug 11, 2004
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3
I have a 72 Mercruiser 888 (Ford 302) with - I think - a model 1 outdrive (single gear oil fill, not two separate chambers). the boat has been out of the water for two years. Prepping on the trailer with a water muff on the IO, the engine started and ran great, but the gear shift seems very noisy shifting into both fwd and reverse. Once in gear, it sounds fine. The noise is mechanical - gears crashing into each other, and makes me cringe! The only way to get it to run in reverse is to walk the shift lever very slowly (too slowly for practical docking) back til it engages. Otherwise the engine just stalls out. It''s a two lever system (separate throttle and shifters) and idles about 800 rpm. Adjusting the rpm up or down a couple of hundred rpm doesn't seem to change the problem. I was concerned about having it operating out of the water, so I did not want to run it more than a couple of minutes, especially in gear. Any ideas?
 

Bondo

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Apr 17, 2002
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71,308
Re: Engine stalls in reverse

Your lower Shift Cable is Dragging......<br />Replace it,+ your Problems will Go Away......
 

katefh

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Joined
Aug 11, 2004
Messages
3
Re: Engine stalls in reverse

Bondo, thanks. Can I replace the lower shift cable in boat in water? This is not an easy boat to haul!
 

markjac

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Aug 13, 2004
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2
Re: Engine stalls in reverse

Hi Kate. I think I have the same problem. I have a mercruiser 120 with an Alpha 1 stern drive. Took it for its maiden voyage this afternoon and I found the same problem. Going into gear (even forward) is a bit of a 'clunk.' However it goes really well when going forward. However, as soon as I want to go into reverse I have to 'walk' the shift lever into reverse and let it engage very gently. Unfortunately, as soon as I try and give the boat any revs (in reverse) the engine stalls.<br /><br />Could anyone confirm that I have the same problem as Kate?
 

Bondo

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Apr 17, 2002
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71,308
Re: Engine stalls in reverse

Sounds like it Mark............<br /><br />No Kate,<br />The Outdrive Must be Removed......
 
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