Outdrive reverse but not forward

[RC]

1986 OMC 4.3l v6 with Cobra outdrive<br />Took the boat out yesterday, put it into reverse to clear the dock then shifted into forward but nothing happened. Tried it a couple of more times and it then went it forward gear. Went a little ways, put it in nuetral and still took a couple of tries to get it into gear. Reverse no problem, forward a little problem. Went fishing for a few hours and when leaving our spot the outdrive went right into forward gear nice and smooth. Any ideas of what's happening?

 

[GregCC167Concept]

Re: Outdrive reverse but not forward

You could have the same problem I had first time out this year. Except mine was worse. Mine wouldn't go into forward at all. Took it to a mechanic, he pulled the outdrive and found bad corrosion everywhere. He cleaned it all up, packed everything with grease, and put it back together. He tells me I'm good to go but it's been raining or too cold or both so far for me to go test it out again. Cost me about $150 bucks - almost all labor. If you know what you are doing, try looking at that first.

 

[mvaughn]

Re: Outdrive reverse but not forward

I would check the shift linkage, sound like it may need to be adjusted. This happened to my 88' same motor and drive. It's bolted to the right side of the intake manifold. If that seems ok, check the cables for rust, or see if they have been kinked.

 

[RC]

Re: Outdrive reverse but not forward

I serviced my outdrive recently and have been out 3 times with no problems. The only thing I didn't do was change the outdrive oil which I'm doing this weekend. I'll take a look at the shift linkage. If the linkage from the shifter was blocked by stuff stored underneath the cables could this cause a problem?