Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

[jonesg]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

can't tell some folk, they know it before bothering to test anything.
OEM manual is great but it doesn't come with common sense.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

check for prop spin like posted above, and assuming that is not the problem, it really sounds like a forward gear. Did you test it in the water? Would reverse gear propel the boat backward? If so, then you have a good prop, and that is not the problem.

do you have a manual?
basically a vertical spinning shaft comes down the lower unit, and a gear at the end spins a forward gear. The forward gear is turned 90 degrees to the vertical gear, so it can spin the prop. Sounds like your forward gear is stripped. The pinion gear it what engages the forward, (and reverse) gear. This may be going too, but is in good enough shape to still turn the seldem used reverse gear.
You could try to replace this your self, but i looked in my manual, and there were about 50 small parts involved, and it looked over my head.

 

[HybridMX6]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

I would find it sort of odd that there was no metal or anything in the LU oil when it was checked if the gear is stripped out. There should be some sort of metal of some kind. I'm still curious if you have disconnected the shift cable and tried to shift it manually, while slightly spinning the prop to see if it will engage. If it does, something is out of alignment with the shift linkage.
I have another question also, when you removed the prop )or at least tightened it), what was involved in doing that? There should be a cotter pin, a nut, a washer I believe, then the prop, then another washer of sorts. If the prop was as loose as you say, from how it sounds it could have been loose enough to not grab the threaded drive shaft in F, but will in R due to the nature of the direction of force. If the cotter pin is missing, it would allow the nut to back off, possibly enough to disengage the prop-shaft when in F. Please check that before putting it in the water, I'd hate to see you lose a prop, propnut, and the washers just b/c a cotter pin was missing, which is a $2 part, if not less.

 

[chazswint]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

I have looked over everything and the pin is in the bolt is on with the prop etc but, I did notice that the bolt will loosen up some even with the pin in? The boat will run in reverse well and we drove back to the dock in reverse yesterday. HA!
I guess that it has to be the forward gear and maybe something else too, clutch dog? I do not have an owners manual to the motor. Is there a place online to download one? Also, is there a good place to order parts?
I wish I could find some detailed pics of how to take out the gears myself... Ideas?
This might be too big of a project but, I am just trying to save some money!

 

[HybridMX6]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

If you are considering doing this yourself, buy a factory service manual. www.kencook.com has them I believe, as well as you can find them on ebay, much cheaper. I'm not sure of it being the forward gear, since there was no metal in the oil. Clutch dog maybe, but not sure if it can pick on only F and not R, I've never taken my LU apart before to know how it works. A clutch dog wearing out is usually shown early on by the motor skipping out of gear while underway, it would feel like hitting something in the water as it loses the gear then grabs it again. All being said, a shift cable is also an unlikely culprit (although possible), since it should not be able to adjust itself, so it working one day and not the next is unlikely. If the pin was in the nut, the prop would not have been far enough off the prop shaft to have slipped. Generally, you tighten the nut and get it close to the hole for the cotter pin, if it's a turn tighter you don't tighten it, but back off a hair. I've heard if you over-tighten that nut it will break down the seal for the prop shaft, letting water in the gearcase, then causing more costly problems. Mercury Marine did a LU service on my friends 25hp, 2 trips later it was acting very badly in gear. He took it back, they checked the fluid, which was practically milk chocolate, and they said he tightened the nut down too much. He showed them the receipt of their work, and they warranteed it and had to rebuild the entire LU for him as it was toast. They were idiots there anyways, he stopped taking it to that shop after that.

 

[56 rude]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

Make sure you have the cables on properly ,you may have them reversed!Dont laugh! its been done before and will be done again!Dont ask me how i know because i will lie till the cows come home,lol

 

[bowman316]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

I have reversed the cables too, but it would not go into reverse it they were switched.

Who long have YOU owned this motor?
maybe the last guy found a bunch of metal shavings the last time he changed his oil, then promplty sold it.

Engaging these gears at say 1,500 rpms will hurt them. It will wear them down.

what part of the country are ya in?

 

[56 rude]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

actually i did it on a merc and if i remember correctly it did go into gear but that was all,sure had me baffled for a few then my brain engaged and all was well,lol.would not hurt to check out anyways and while he,s at it can properly adjust and eliminate the cables or adjustments as the problem or not.sure hope its that, though replacing gears or clutch dog is actually a pretty simple operation.

 

[chazswint]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

We are in Dallas, TX.
Okay so let me try these cables. Call me crazy but I am still not too sure where these cables are that I need to check. I do know where the cables are that come from the gear shifter and back to the front of the motor. They all seem to be working well. The arms they are attached to move easily with the forward and reverse movement from the gear shifter, Is this what I am supossed to check? I have made a new observation though... The top screw you remove to drain the lower unit oil did have a few tiny metal like pieces on it but not in the oil and it was magnetic to other screws. What is this a sign of? I hope we are getting close to a final decision so maybe we can get it fixed here really soon. Thanks again for all of the help!!

Well one more thing- I need the motor to idle much slower so that when it does shift into a gear it will not be so hard on it. How do I do that? I am almost scared to adjust it b/c I want it to run. HA

 

[HybridMX6]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

The idle adjustment is going to be on each carb, and you will have to do it on the water and at normal operating temp. You will adjust 1 at a time. I'm not familiar with your particular engine, so I am sure someone with more knowledge on your motor will chime in with where the adjustment screw is on your carbs. Mine, if I'm in the boat facing the motor with the hood off, is on the upper left side of the carb bodies.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

for the idle adjustment, you can adjust the black dial on the top cable comming into the motor. after your cables come into the motor, there should be a mechanical arm going to the throttle body. You can adjust a dial on this arm to make it longer shorter, and open or close the carb doors at idle.

Also, you can simply turn the idle stop screw, which should be a 3 inch long screw on the starbord side of the motor, right behind where the cables some in at. There should be 2 screws, one 2 inches verticle of the other. They should be close to touching a mechinish that moves when you shift gears. This is what runs the carb's. Making that screw get closer to this mechinism will stop it short, and not let the carb's open as much.

I know it sounds really confusing, but when you look at it you should figure it out.

 

[chazswint]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

Okay everyone so I have pulled the lower unit etc... Probally a big waste of time but, now I know that it has to be the cable I guess. So, last night I took the throtle cable off. With just me moving the gear assembly on the motor I can very easily put it into forward and reverse gear. Its really hard for me to find neutral as I move it manually? Is that normal? The prop will stick in place just like it supossed to in the forward and reverse gears! How do I know that my cable is bad though? I took it off and I can move the cable freely when it is off the boat bot ends seem to slide in and out easily... Should it do that or be stuck or something if its bad. Also, I have adjusted the idle with just the black wheel on the other cable from the gear box that goes to the motor. High RPM's is not an issue anymore! Any thoughts on this silly cable? Do we think that for sure the deal? Thanks again to all that take the time to respond!

 

[crxess]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

Best way to check shift operation with a cable shift is to release it at the motor side. Check linkage there for further movement after gear selection.

out of water
First - have someone turning the prop while you shift into reverse. Does it lock in?
Next - While turning prop shift to neutral. Do you have neutral?
Last - while turning prop shift to forward. Does it lock in?

If shifting into either gear fails or neutral seems in the wrong place something is misaligned.
1-Shift rod could need adjustment to balance forward/reverse movement.
2 -Cable could be stretched.

Normally Cables push for reverse - rarely have issues.
They pull for forward. Stretched cable cannot pull linkage far enough to reach forward gear.

 

[chazswint]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

Thanks! That has to be my problem. It can not stretch far enough to actually lock it into the forward gear. So, I took the cable off and now I guess I just need to get a replacement... It was kind of hard to get the gear box off and apart. I hope that was the only way to do this. HA Hopefully we will be back on the lake tomm!!

 

[krogie]

Re: Wife & Kids really want boat to work! Please help, gear question!

i do not have much time in on lower units , but again like said earlier check to make sure that the neutral detent button has poped back out ( if you have this style control box ). i have seen control boxes bad from even the factory , and had to be replaced before the boat was rigged to sell.