Mercury elpto 115HP - Reverse in Muffs but no reverse in water

[JK Splice]

Hello,
I have a 1998 mercury 115hp elpto. The motor runs great. I am having trouble getting it to shift into reverse on the water under load. The outboard shifts fine when outside of the water on muffs.

Some background info so this all happened after I got a spun hub. I was out in the water and shifted into reverse and it seems that the prop nut came loose and resulted in a spun hub. Replaced the hub and then realized the issue with the reverse.

Things I have tried. I thought maybe the cables needed to be adjusted. So I tried disconnecting the shift cable at the motor, and shift it manually in the water and it still did not properly engage. When shifted into reverse in water it makes a noise like (my theory) if the clutch is trying to latch/engage or just jumping out of gear like a rapid muffled clank clank clank. So something has to be adjusted.

Any help/ideas is much appreciated.

 

[emoney]

So you only removed the prop? I can't see how you'd develop a reverse problem by just changing out the prop, especially if you say it's shifting fine on muffs. Have you confirmed it goes into gear in your driveway by watching the prop spin? The working out of the water part is what's throwing me. Did you pull the cable off the controls when you replaced the prop? Tell us more.

 

[JK Splice]

So you only removed the prop? I can't see how you'd develop a reverse problem by just changing out the prop, especially if you say it's shifting fine on muffs. Have you confirmed it goes into gear in your driveway by watching the prop spin? The working out of the water part is what's throwing me. Did you pull the cable off the controls when you replaced the prop? Tell us more.

The reverse issue was developed when the prop hub spun. With a spun prop hub I still had minimal power. Manage to make it back to the dock on forward gear real slow. During this trip with the hub damaged but not fully destroyed i also shifted to reverse when i was docking and noticed that it was not engaging at all and making a funny noise. Since the hub was damaged i thought that was the reason reverse was not working.

Later on replaced hub and prop and still did not have reverse. Forward gear was fully restored with new hub and prop. I have visually confirmed that it does go into reverse gear on muffs in my driveway. I did not touch the cables when replacing the prop and hub.

With new prop and hub installed i removed the shift cable and manually shifted the outboard with my hand into reverse to see if the cable adjustment was the issue. Reverse still did not engage while in water. So its not a shift cable issue. Thanks

 

[Texasmark]

Just for grins, disconnect the remote shift linkage. Engine OFF, vertical, slowly shift the engine into reverse till you fill the shifting mechanism in your hand resist your pushing....with light pressure. Mark the position of the shift mechanism vs position in neutral. Slowly rotate the prop in the reverse direction while continuing to apply light pressure. Can you find a spot where the shift linkage will move on all the way to the engaged position? If so, with the lever fully in the R position, grasp the prop and see if it will turn the flywheel, trying both directions.

If you can turn the flywheel in both positions with the prop your LU shift mechanism should be ok.....assuming the prop you are grasping can turn the prop shaft. If you can't the clutch dog located on the prop shaft may be stripped. It slides back and forth with the shift lever, purpose to engage the rear of F gear (sawtoothed ratcheting gearing), assume a central position contacting neither for N, or the front of the R gear's Cogs and Slots....vertical sided, have to be perfectly aligned to mesh.

Other option is your shift linkage in the engine could be damaged. If not turning the prop shaft your problem is in your prop to prop shaft interface...hub damaged, splines not connected......

 

[Chris1956]

Did you remove the gearcase at any time? If so, the upper and lower shift shafts could be mis-aligned.

What does the gear oil look like? Chunks of metal? White with water? When was it last changed?

Other than that, if Marks advice doesn't fix it, you may want to see if SEI makes a replacement gearcase.

 

[JK Splice]

Guys,
I tried Texasmark suggestion and found a little bit of play in the shift shaft. Decided to pull the bearing carrier and shift shaft out and take a more in depth look and found the culprit. The shift cam was damage causing the clutch to not fully engage the R gear. Ordered a new one just waiting for it. Thanks emoney Chris1956 Texasmark

 

[Texasmark]

Well congrats. You jumped right in there and found the problem. When you attempt to help someone on forums of this sort, you never know "to whom" you are responding. Usually it's a person looking for the quickest and easiest answer, fiddle pfarting around spending time and money and finally putting one's mind to the cold hard facts and spending the effort/bucks to go after the root cause.....wondering why you didn't pursue that effort intially and kicking yourself.........Now I'm here to tell you NEVER, I MEAN NEVER, would I do such a thing.......procrastinate......if you believe that I have some Florida swamp land I'll sell you for a residential subdivision...........cheap!