77 chrysler 15 horse grinds when shifting to reverse

greasemonkeyjmj

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
264
hi folks. I used my 15 horse chrysler that i saved from the junk yard for the first time this past weekend. after some on the water carb adjusting, it ran great all weekend. but I have a problem. when shifting into forward it does fine. but when going to reverse, it grinds everytime. it doesnt matter if i am going from foward to reverse or from neutral to reverse.it locks into reverse fine, but it just gives the grind going in. as always, any info is appreciated.
 

Frank Acampora

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
Messages
12,004
Re: 77 chrysler 15 horse grinds when shifting to reverse

The lower unit has a spring loaded "pin" in the center of the prop shaft. The bottom of the shift rod screws into a ramp or cam that travels up and down. It releases the pin and decompresses the spring for forward and compresses the spring for reverse. Thus it takes much more effort to go into reverse. The shift linkage inside the engine cowl is long and bent and can flex quite a bit. SO: Check for any binding at the lower unit shift rod seal and up top in the shift pivots. Also be certain that the shift throw is equal for forward and reverse.
 
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