Where's Reverse

98410koauka

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​1985 Johnson J30TELCOA.

Background: Recently inherited an Alumacraft with the above tiller engine. Checked plugs and general condition. Changed lower end oil. Greased it. Hooked up a fresh battery. Set up the ?dog ears?/ ?ear muffs? for engine run. Water on. Prime. Hit start. Running. Very happy.

Using the ?side of case? shifter, moved to forward. Smooth entry. Back to neutral. O.K.

But I can?t find how to get it to go into reverse. Took case off. Was able to manually lift the ?reverse lockout? and smoothly shifted into reverse.

Does anyone know the secret handshake to get it into reverse normally? or is this a linkage adjustment issue?

Thanks for your thoughts.
 

oldboat1

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wasn't sure about the meaning of "reverse lockout," so maybe an explanation there? Should be able to shift as long as the twist grip throttle is set in the "shift" range or below -- and can't increase beyond idle speed if shift is not in gear. Wondering if maybe there is a connection to the transom lock on that model (i.e., can't shift into reverse unless the engine is prevented from tilting up). But maybe that's the reverse lockout you describe.
 

F_R

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There is an idle speed adjustment, limiting how slow it runs at idle (how far you can move the throttle toward "slow"). But unless that is set obscenely high, I don't think that's what we are dealing with here.
 

F_R

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Back to basics: You ARE trying to shift it while running--aren't you? The gears must be moving so you can catch them "on the fly".
 

98410koauka

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Back to basics: You ARE trying to shift it while running--aren't you? The gears must be moving so you can catch them "on the fly".


Engine on at idle, DSC_1153sa.JPG ,
Easily shifts into forward and back into neutral. Attempting reverse, it hits the "reverse lockout"... next para and pic.

LtCmdr Oldboat1 and Supreme Mariner F_R, as mentioned in opening post, when I manually lift the ?reverse lockout? it smoothly shifted into reverse. See following pic. Hope this helps. Sometimes the picture is better than the word. Thus, the question... What's the secret to getting the lockout to lift? I'm at a loss.

DSC_1152sa.jpg

Thanks for your patience and assistanceThanks for your patience and assistance
.
 

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oldboat1

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neutral safety switch. can't see offhand why it would affect reverse shift operation, even if the switch was not functioning right. There were different length mounting screws it appears, for different hp models -- a guess might be that you have the wrong mounting screws for your model, and that is interfering with the reverse shift operation (physically blocking the linkage). wow. that is really a guess.
 

98410koauka

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neutral safety switch. can't see offhand why it would affect reverse shift operation, ... a guess might be that you have the wrong mounting screws for your model, and that is interfering with the reverse shift operation (physically blocking the linkage). wow. that is really a guess.

More background. This was Mom's boat. She moved to the "big pond" in the sky about a year ago @ 91 years old. Prior to her getting too sick to fish, everything worked well... but its sat for several years. I just ensured that the engine was hand cranked & fogged annually. As it's sited in a heavy tourist boating area in central WI, I think taking it to the local marina sometime next week might be best. Weekends should be left to the tourist and their $$.;>)

Again, thanks to you and all who replied. Additional thoughts welcome and appreciated.

Additional note: Your thought may hold water as it has had emergency maintenance up in Canada at the "you can't go no further, this is the end of the road, Ontario, CA" boat maintenance shop.
 

F_R

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OK, with your pictures in mind, I got out of my chair and went out to look at my motor. Heh, mine doesn't have those parts, because it doesn't have a recoil starter. But anyhoo, that is not a reverse lockout lever it is a neutral start gizmo. Makes you have it in neutral before you can start it. Whatever the case may be, if you look at it from that perspective, you probably can figure out what the problem is. Sorry, I'm not familiar with the workings of it. Is the cable to the recoil starter present and functioning?
 

oldboat1

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just for grins, might slightly back out that screw at the end of your pointer arrow -- looks like a set screw, and might be binding. then see if the shift lever goes into reverse. Alternatively, try pushing up on that device as you did before and see if you can feel any binding. If Mom was using it, presumably it was working(?)
 

98410koauka

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Everyone thanks for your input. I finally did what should have been first... parked the stern in the shade and brought out the bright light... so I could follow the shift lever action.

Looking at the picture, at the end of the red arrow is a white thing... it's basically a cam follower officially called "LEVER, Neutral shift lockout" if the IPB is correct. Directly underneath it is the "Actuator cam, shift"... it's directly attached to the shift lever and in the middle of the cam is the neutral detent. The detent was rather dirty along with the cam... cleaned & greased the cam... now it shifts past the detent with some resistance due to the double springs on the follower arm. Shifted it through the F-N-R range several times running... very smooth entering and exiting both forward and reverse. Still may need spring pressure adjustment but works.

Again, thanks to all who replied.
Case closed.
 
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