Tightlines72
Cadet
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2015
- Messages
- 18
Hey guys, I bought a 18 ft flats boat last fall and have been fixing up the engine over the past few months. When I purchased it and took it out for the first time, I discovered that it would not shift into reverse (I know, sea test next time!). This didn't appear to be causing any other problems, so I've proceeded for a while with no issues except for a little difficulty docking. However, I recently was having trouble shifting from neutral into forward with the engine running. RPMS would increase as I pushed the throttle forward, but forward gear would not always engage right away. I adjusted the shifter cable to my manual specs and this seemed to solve the problem. However, my last trip out the problem resurfaced and by the time I was putting the boat on the trailer, it was very difficult to get forward to engage at all. I have changed lower unit oil (not milky and no significant metal shavings) which I'm hoping means that my shifter cable is just broken or overstretched. The fact that my reverse has never worked though has me a little worried that I may have a major lower unit issue. Every mechanic around me is booked for weeks and I'm itching to get on the water so if you guys think that replacing my shifter cable would get me going again, I will give that a shot. I talked to one mechanic yesterday who told me that if I kept trying to get it to shift into forward like this I could blow out my lower unit. Is this accurate? Thanks in advance for the replies!
