I live in SW Florida, and a neighbor of mine lives either three houses away from me (in the Winter), or in Massachusetts. He's on his way back to Mass. as I write this.
He bought a 1997 Mako with a 150 Johnson on it about a year ago, and recently was getting some rough idling and exhaust in the face. He discovered that there was some corrosion on the mating surfaces between the power head and the exhaust case, and this he promptly repaired. He also removed the lower unit to have it resealed (by someone other than himself). He was kind enough to let me have use of the boat while he is away for the Summer.
I am a novice at this stuff. I took the boat out for a very short and low rpm jaunt today for the first time, and I am having great difficulty getting the motor to shift into forward gear without intense grinding. There is no problem shifting into reverse gear. I also discovered that if it will not engage in forward gear, if I shift it briefly into reverse, and then back to forward, it will engage rather nicely.
I am not at all sure if the problem is me, or if there is actually a problem. I suspect that since I can get it into reverse without difficulty, the problem may not be me. Could this be a simple adjustment problem....lower unit or cable adjustment? I likely would not be doing this myself as it is not my engine, but I will call someone in if I have to. I would just like a little bit of knowledge ahead of time if I could. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
He bought a 1997 Mako with a 150 Johnson on it about a year ago, and recently was getting some rough idling and exhaust in the face. He discovered that there was some corrosion on the mating surfaces between the power head and the exhaust case, and this he promptly repaired. He also removed the lower unit to have it resealed (by someone other than himself). He was kind enough to let me have use of the boat while he is away for the Summer.
I am a novice at this stuff. I took the boat out for a very short and low rpm jaunt today for the first time, and I am having great difficulty getting the motor to shift into forward gear without intense grinding. There is no problem shifting into reverse gear. I also discovered that if it will not engage in forward gear, if I shift it briefly into reverse, and then back to forward, it will engage rather nicely.
I am not at all sure if the problem is me, or if there is actually a problem. I suspect that since I can get it into reverse without difficulty, the problem may not be me. Could this be a simple adjustment problem....lower unit or cable adjustment? I likely would not be doing this myself as it is not my engine, but I will call someone in if I have to. I would just like a little bit of knowledge ahead of time if I could. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.