1980 Chrysler Charger 140hp otuboard Gear Shift Issues

[StanMT]

Recently purchased a 1980 Silverline Kodiac 16GTL that came with a 1980 Chrysler Charger 140hp outboard. On our first trip out I took things easy just to get a feel for the boat (our first boat), but towards the end of the outing I gave the motor a bit more throttle.

Right about 4600 rpm there was a pretty fierce 'jolt' that only happened once and I backed off the throttle. Thought I had hit a sunken log or something. Circled and looked around and did not see anything in the water, so continued on and about 5 minute later I ran the throttle up again - same thing, around 4600 rpm the "jolt" happened again.

I had the boat out a couple more times and just kept the rpm's below 4200 and all seemed to work ok. But this past weekend while out fishing the same "jolt" effect started happening around 3600 rpm.

I did quite a bit of searching here (and other places) with the result that some other conversations indicate that the motor might be coming out of gear momentarily.

One other indication that I will add is that I was having problems getting the starter to engage in neutral. After some front yard investigations, I discovered that the shift cable would only allow the neutral interlock to be depressed if shifting from reverse to neutral. If shifted from forward to neutral, the arm that is supposed to depress the neutral interlock was about 1/2" towards the back of the powerhead - not even touching the button on the interlock.

Fortunately, I received the outboard owners manual when I purchased the boat so I scanned the appropriate figures and typed in the instructions for adjusting the gear shift cable below.

I went through the procedure, but I do have a few questions for someone with more knowledge.

The first question is on step 9. When adjusting the shift arm "until it is aligned with tab on towershaft". The image in figure 6 almost looks like the tabs are at the same height - this doesn't seem right though as the throttle cannot be increased with the neutral lock-out pulled out as they butt into one another.

So the question is, is the proper alignment having the bottom of the tower shaft tab align with the top of the shift arm tab - or something else?

The second question is on steps 10&11. For step 10, does this indicate to pull the shift arm toward the rear of the powerhead 'just until' the lower unit is fully engaged? And then try to keep it in that position while adjusting the shift connector?


The first attempt I made seemed to all go well, until step 11 - there were not enough threads to line up the shift connector with the shift connector stud.
(In step 9 I had adjusted the bottom of the tower shaft tab to just slide over the top of the shift arm tab). (Shift arm was in the proper position to depress the neutral interlock button with this setup when shifting from forward to neutral).

I then re-adjusted the tower shaft tab to what it 'looks like' in the figure where both tabs are on the same plane, that created the throttle limitation where the throttle could not be increased with the neutral lock disengaged.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, first time boat owner and trying to get things 'right'.


Gear Shift Cable:

(Adjustment Procedure)

1. Disconnect shift connector from connector stud on side of powerhead (see Figure 4).




2. Shift remote control box into forward gear.

3. While turning propeller, pull shift arm toward rear of powerhead until lower unit is fully engaged in forward gear.

4. Mark location of shift rod where it emerges from the motor leg (see figure 5.)

5. While turning propeller, pull shift arm to front of powerhead until unit is fully engaged in reverse gear.

6. Mark location of shift rod where it emerges from motor leg (see Figure 5.)

7. Place mark on shift rod half way between the forward and reverse marks. This center mark represents the neutral position on the shift rod.

8. Align neutral mark on shift rod with surface of motor leg.





9. Raise or lower tab on shift arm until it is aligned with tab on towershaft (see Figure 6.)

10. While turning propeller, pull shift arm toward rear of powerhead until unit is fully engaged in forward gear.

11. Maintain moderate pressure on shift arm (toward rear of powerhead) and adjust shift connector until it is centered on connector stud. Secure connector to stud.

IMPORTANT

NOTE: When performing Step 11, apply only enough rearward pressure to take the lost motion out of the shift linkage. DO NOT APPLY SO MUCH PRESSURE THAT YOU CAUSE PRE-LOADING BETWEEN THE CLUTCH AND FORWARD GEAR.

12. Shift control box into neutral.

13. Adjust interlock switch as necessary so that starter will engage when control box is in neutral.

CHECKING REMOTE CONTROL INSTALLATION

Check the controls for correct operation by rotating the propeller and by moving the control lever in the remote control box to the "Forward", "Neutral", and "Reverse" positions, the propeller should be locked firmly in place. When in "Neutral", the propeller should turn freely.

Note: The initial installation of your remote controls and adjustments must be made by your Authorized Chrysler Outboard Dealer.

 

[Nordin]

Have read through your post and I think you may have some issue with gear popping out.
The adjustning procedure is quite right.

The tower shaft tab should be adjusted to same height as the shift arm tab.
The purpose of the tower shaft tab is to limitate the throttle in neutral.

You should be able to open up the throttle just a little bit in neutral

Depending on what remote control you have there is a cold start procedure.
Chrysler remote have a little knob that you pull out to disengage the gear at your are able to push the handle forward and give a bit of throttle.

On other remote controls you pul out the shift handle or lift the handle. It depends on brands.

Follow the procedure you have and as in step 13 you adjust the interlock switch soo it depress the switch button in neutral and in forward and reverse leave the button and the switch be unactivated.

 

[StanMT]

​​Nordin,
Thanks for the response, that pretty much answers the first question in relation to the height of the shift arm tab in relation to the tower shaft tab when in neutral.
I grabbed a few more pictures tonight to make sure I have things right (a picture is worth a thousand words....)



First image shows the type of control box I have, second image shows the relationship of the shift arm tab and the tower shaft tab in neutral with the "Neutral Throttle Knob" pulled out and the throttle pushed forward as far as the tower shaft tab will allow.
The third image gives an idea on how much throttle is advanced before the tower shaft tab stops against the shift arm tab.

With the Neutral Throttle Knob pushed in and the throttle pushed fully forward, the next image shows the relationship of the two tabs:


Sorry about the blurry image, but it was tough to get a decent picture with the location and lighting that was available.



This shows the marking on the shift rod that was made in step 4 of the process above, and this is where the second question about steps 10 and 11 come into play. It seems like the shift rod could still go down a bit further to ensure the dog is fully engaged. Sure wish I would have taken a picture of the shift arm at full throttle before I got started.

I realize that the only way to test the changes is to get the boat in the water and run up the rpm's to see what the results are, but was hoping someone might have an idea on exactly what the process is for steps 10 and 11 - or if there is some other method that works.

 

[pnwboat]

The instructions for adjusting the gear linkage are pretty much the way you do it. If you want to bias the adjustment so that it is pushing more towards the forward gear, you can adjust it pushes the rod down a tad further. I'm pretty sure that pushing the rod down engages the forward gear.

One thing that I do differently is that I do not use the shift arm or linkage to move the vertical shift rod that comes out of the lower unit. The reason I do this is to eliminate and movement limitations that the linkage might impose on the shift rod. If for some reason the linkage is way out of adjustment, you may not get a true indication of the full range of movement (either up or down) of the vertical shift rod. This can affect your adjustment. I disconnect the horizontal piece that connects to the vertical shift rod. I take a pair of pliers and pull the shift rod up while slowly turning the prop until I feel the dog lock the prop into place, them mark the shift rod (this is reverse). Next I take the pliers and push all the way down while slowly turning the propeller until I feel the dog lock the prop into place. Mark that spot on the shift rod (this is forward). Next I pull the shift rod all the way up so that I can see both marks. I then put a mark halfway between the marks to indicate the "neutral" position.

NOTE: The vertical shift rod is threaded into a shift lever in the lower unit. You can also make minor adjustments to bias the shift mechanism by tightening or loosening the shift rod a few turns. This essentially moves the shift rod up (loosening bias towards forward) or down (tightening bias towards reverse).

CAUTION. If you unthread the shift rod so that it comes out of the shift lever in the lower unit, you may have to do a partial disassembly of the lower unit to get it back in. Before I attempt to to a gear adjustment, I always make sure that the shift rod is fully threaded all the way in. That way I know I can unthread it a few turns without fear of it coming out of the shift lever.

 

[StanMT]

pnwboat,
Thanks for the input, it is appreciated.

I did remove the shift linkage as you mentioned and manually moved the shift arm in order to mark the forward/reverse limits and then made a mark 1/2 way in between to indicate neutral.

I have been over the adjustment procedure a few times and I think it is finally starting to make some sense. I'm still just a little confused on Step 11 in the procedure above though. I'm making the assumption that the moderate pressure is once the shift arm is fully engaged in the forward position - but if I go at it that way there is not enough adjustment in the shift linkage to center it on the connector stud.

So what I did was move the shift arm to the point where the dog seemed to be fully engaged and then adjusted the shift connector so it could be mounted on the connector stud. Could be that the shift linkage is worn I guess - will have to look into that. Another possibility might be to get the connector mounted to the stud and then adjust the vertical shift arm with the linkage bolts to get the dog seated further into the gear. (Please let me know if there are any flaws in that reasoning).

Thanks again for the help.

 

[jerryjerry05]

"NOTE: The vertical shift rod is threaded into a shift lever in the lower unit. You can also make minor adjustments to bias the shift mechanism by tightening or loosening the shift rod a few turns. This essentially moves the shift rod up (loosening bias towards forward) or down (tightening bias towards reverse)."



​The vertical shift rod: in the drive, it gets screwed al the way in. There is a double lock nut at the top of the shift rod. under the bottom carb. That's where you adjust
the shift rod if needed.
​You try turning the rod to the gear shaft coupler , you can turn it too far and cause some serious problems.

 

[StanMT]

jerryjerry05,
Correct, I had determined that the adjustment is the two nuts on the shift rod (step 9 and figure 6 in the setup instructions above), rather than turning the rod itself.
On mine, the shift rod has the 90 degree elbow on the bottom that is attached to the rod coming up from the gearbox with a small screw.
Was planning on going out to work on the motor this evening - mother nature and a few thunderstorms kinda cancelled that. Maybe tomorrow evening, with a test run on Saturday or Sunday.
Thanks,

 

[StanMT]

Well, after going through the shift adjustments a few times making sure things were all as they should be based on the information in the owners manual - things seem to have gotten worse. The motor now had the 'thunk' effect even at lower RPM's when coming out of the hole. Also happened when running at a constant 3500 RPM.

I don't understand how it could have gotten worse unless the clutch is quickly in the process of completely going out. The dog does seem to engage fully when setting it up out in the front driveway.

The only other thing I have done is make two very minor ('maybe' a 32nd of a turn) carburetor adjustments. Don't know if that could be causing the 'thunks', but the carbs are going to be turned back to original location and see if the symptoms go back to what they originally.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Carbs shouldn't have any thing to do with the thunk unless the rpm's go up.
You might try taking the linkage off and shifting by hand.
Make sure it's in gear and see if it still thunks?
​Still thunking, take the drive apart and check the dog.

 

[StanMT]

Carbs shouldn't have any thing to do with the thunk unless the rpm's go up.
You might try taking the linkage off and shifting by hand.
Make sure it's in gear and see if it still thunks?
​Still thunking, take the drive apart and check the dog.

Thanks for the tips, I hope to get the boat out in the next evening or two and will see what happens. If it is the dog, I'm not even sure where to start looking as a local person that works on older outboards informed me that the drive parts are no longer available. So I would have to look for used.

 

[jerryjerry05]

That local person is WRONG!!
Parts all over the place.
The dog can be resurfaced.
But you need to figure out why it went bad?? Slow shifting, linkage adjustment, bad cable, bad shifter???

 

[StanMT]

That local person is WRONG!!
Parts all over the place.
The dog can be resurfaced.
But you need to figure out why it went bad?? Slow shifting, linkage adjustment, bad cable, bad shifter???

heh, learn something new every day. Will know more after I get the boat in the water the next time. Then I can begin searching for the parts needed.

 

[StanMT]

Ok, I finally got the lower unit dropped from the motor and have it in my shop. Have never removed the gears from an outboard before so it is slow going while I ensure I am doing things correctly - and making various jigs and such to work on extracting the gears. (i.e. a makeshift puller to extract the spool from the gearcase).
Once I got the spool out though - there are two retaining rings that I have not been able to remove. Anyone have suggestions on how to get those out?
Thanks much.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Long pick.
Push the carrier forward and they might just drop out.