Lost Reverse

[SkiDad]

Hi Guys, 1985 Force 125 - i've had some fun this year - ugg

I swapped my lower unit a few months ago - since I put it on, reverse has been a little iffy (I think PO was rough on reverse for some reason) Often it wouldn't stay in reverse unless you gave it a little gas - as of the weekend it just grinds trying to go into reverse - if I take my remote shift cable off I can manually shift into reverse in the driveway with engine off. I tried adjusting the shift rod up a little (toward reverse) but it doesn't seem to help once i put cable back on - it just makes forward a little iffy so I put it back to where it was (i marked the nut)

So I'm wondering can something on my controls be out of adjustment or is there another spot I can adjust something. I feel like the the movement to reverse is not enough but can't fix it at the shift rod without risking forward. I do notice that it is a little tough moving the shift lever on the engine back and forth. Seems that that should move a little more easily to me. Also seems that I can move more in both direction with remote cable off - testing this by the marks i made with cable on. I notice that neutral is different spot coming from forward than from reverse based on the marks.

The remote box is not binding b/c it's very easy to move once I disconnect from the engine.

 

[Jiggz]

There has to be an adjustment on the remote cable on how far the shift rod will move. I'm no expert on this so we will have to wait for the Captains and Admirals to chime in.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Usually inside the control box the shift lever has a couple of holes in it. If the cable is attached to an inner hole, move it to an outer hole for more throw. Then readjust forward and reverse linkage. If the grinding is a new development, there is a decent chance that the cable is binding somewhere. Time to remove it from the linkage and see if it moves smoothly without the shift linkage load on it.

If you have been grinding the reverse gear for an appreciable period of time there is also a good chance that the drive dogs are rounded and need refacing.

 

[SkiDad]

thanks I give that a try - will that mess up full throttle position or is that not related ? I have your typical bayliner morse controls that pull out for neutral.

 

[SkiDad]

No Title

are you referring to here ? this is a set of controls that i sold recently but are the same as mine

 

[SkiDad]

Hi Guys, thanks for the advice - i put the remote shifter cable end into the lower hole (there were 2 holes) and it gave me about 1/16 inch more travel both directions on the lower unit shift rod - so I re-adjusted at the engine and bingo reverse is working like a charm - goes it very solid. Man I feel so much better now

 

[Jiggz]

Great! And thanks for posting the final result which would be helpful for future problems.