enigine is killed when put in reverse

[cronus]

I have a 1973 caravelle trihull with a merc 165 straight six [chevy copy] I/O.When shifted into reverse it kills the engine cold or hot 8 out of 10 times. Sometimes it seems when the trim is up problem is worse. When trimed down seems to work better[dosent kill the engine].But not always. Is there some kind of [bad] u-joint in the stern drive that could cause this? I know almost nothing about stern drives or even boats in general. thanks

 

[The Marine Doctor]

Re: enigine is killed when put in reverse

It might be the cutout switch. The engine has a cutout switch to help shift...what it does is mementarily cuts the ign to 1 or more cyl's. Your's might be out of adjustment. Look back where the cables are by the engine. There should be a small switch back there. <br /><br />TMD

 

[Trent]

Re: enigine is killed when put in reverse

Time to change the lower shift cable....Very common.