Reverse lock???

Ginder75 · May 17, 2004

I have a 1977 Mercury 200 (20hp). I have had this motor for only a little while but have noticed some areas of concern. One of them is the reverse lock or lack there of. Here is my situation and you can help me find a solution to the problems. When I am untrailering the boat the motor wants to lift out of the water. (No reverse lock) Secondly, when I am at WOT and on plane and I radily decelerate the motor wants to lift out of the water until I slow to a reasonable speed or I apply the throttle. I have also asked about a rough idle for this motor in another post. So please help anyway possible. Thanks, Robert

andrewkafp · May 17, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

There should be a cam on the shift shaft that rotates and elevates the horns (hooks) that lock onto the transom bracket. Are the horns there ?? or removed ? These need to be locked when reversing or the motor will lift out of the water. If you rapidly drop speed, the same thing will happen unless you bring it back to neutral where it will also lock (When you fix the horns). The locks do not engage in forward gear as the prop thrust keeps the motor hard against the transom leaving it unhooked in case you scrape the bottom or hit something. You NEED to fix the Reverse lock. I think it's P/N 61012 LEVER, REVERSE LOCK No 30 on diagram.

isnms · May 19, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

Did you get it fixed? How? Mine has the same trouble, now. Reverse worked fine, then I needed to replace the shift shaft oil seal. When I got it back together it started having the same problems you described, both reverse and slowing down. I researched here and in the Seloc manual, but it was pretty vague. It describes, for Type I:

Put in Forward Move the upper shift shaft into the proper gear position. Align the guide block to position the rear edge of the pin with the front edge of the exhaust cover plate. Some older model units will not have this guide block. Tilt the engine outward until it is possible to actuate the tilt lever. check to be sure the water tube is in position in the exhaust extension plate. Check to be sure the reverse lock push rod and the shift shaft guide block are in the correct position. (????) Check the upper shift shaft entry into the lower shift shaft by observing the position of the shift shaft at the exhaust extension plate bushing. To align - place a punch against the upper shift shaft and then strike to align the shaft. Test: Forward gear - No counterclockwise rotation Neutral - free rotation either direction Reverse gear - 1/3 turn either direction

By the way, mine is a 71 Mercury 1150.

andrewkafp · May 19, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

isnms The procedure you describe is for the re-intallation of the L/U and includes all the things you need to address along with some diagrams of the "Guide Block" (inside the cowling) What Grinder is saying is that his motor is not locking. This means it has a worn or missing shift cam (plastic) or the hooks are missing. His motor will sekect all gears, but is not locked to the transom when reversing. His problem is in the shift cam, horns or return spring. To see if the locks are working, just put it in neutral or reverse (Not running) and try to lift the motor out.. If it lifts.. the locks are not working.

Ginder75 · May 20, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

I have looked, scratched my head and looked some more. But I have not found any hooks, horns, or locks that would hold this motor down in reverse. Either they were removed by a previous owner, or I am a blind fool. I don't see any mechnical connection to where to lock should be located either. I tried retracing the system from the shifter down and back up again. But I see no moving parts when you put the engine in reverse other than the lower unit. On the diagram, which parts actually engages the reverse lock? By the way, What is the best repair manual available for this model of motor. I plan on having this one for awhile and want to do all the maintence and repairs. Thanks, Ginder75

isnms · May 20, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

That is what I am saying too. My motor does not lock in reverse, it wants to lift out of the water. Granted mine is most likely a reassembly problem since it worked before I replaced the seal. I am just having a hard time following the instruction description. I thank you for the info -

To see if the locks are working, just put it in neutral or reverse (Not running) and try to lift the motor out.. If it lifts.. the locks are not working.

Now I just have to figure out what is not lined up properly. Ginder75 Sorry about hijacking your thread. I guess our motors are not the same in locking mechanisms but the symptoms are the same. I hope you get yours fixed. As for manual, as far as I have found, Seloc is the only Mercury outboard manual. If you find another publisher, let me know.

isnms · May 20, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

Ginder75 - I just found out that Clymer makes outboard repair manuals. I'd like to know which people thinks is the best too. PS: I found here, a discussion on the different manuals : Manuals, Factory vs. Clymer vs. Seloc http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=29;t=008590#000000 Here for the factory manual: http://www.marineengine.com/manuals/mercury/

Ginder75 · May 20, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

isnms, Thanks for the leg work. I see where this debate can be heated. Similar to "Who makes the best motor on the water??? or Bait vs. Artificial!" I am still searching for a manual. But hopefully someone could shed some light on the new revised Seloc compared to a Factory Repair manual. I am a shadetree mechanic at best, but I am not scared to take a wrench to my fishing boat. Ginder75

andrewkafp · May 20, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

Every Outboard, whether tiller or remote has a reverse lock. They are not all controlled by the hooks I refer to, so you need to get your serial no and go to http://www.dougrussell.com/partscatalog/collections/index.cfm?fuseaction=collectdetails&colid=01 Find you year and HP and look under "Swivel bracket" Go through the parts list until you find your reverse hook or hooks for your particular motor and then go see if it is engaging when reverse is selected.

andrewkafp · May 23, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

Any news ?

isnms · May 24, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

I have an update, but I should start my own thread now. Maybe you could check it out and have some advice for me. Thanks Ginder75 for letting me tag onto your post, hope you get your lock fixed.

rickdb1boat · May 24, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

Ginder75 The problem is in the lower unit assembly. When it was taken apart at some time, it was not put together correctly. The best way I can explain it from memory(Been quite a while), is that the shifter rod linkage that connects to the reverse lock is backward. In other words it is acting the opposite way that it should. Instead of lowering the jaws in reverse, it's raising them and therefore you have no lock in reverse. You would have to drop the lower unit to see what I mean. Same thing happened on my 650 Merc. Wish I could remember exactly how it was situated. A Manual should explain it. Drove me nut's until I got the Manual and figured it out. BTW- Same thing happend on a Mariner I had..

Ginder75 · May 24, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

But I have no Lock be it in Reverse, Neutral, or Forward. I think the entire assembly is missing. I have been a little out of pocket the last couple of days with a very sick grandpa. If I get a chance to make it out to the shop, I will lift the motor and see what I have left. If the lower unit was installed incorrectly that would explain why I feel a difference shifting between Forward and Reverse. It takes a lot more effort when shifting into reverse, than shifting into forward. Sorry for not getting to everyone who is trying to help, but Family takes priority over boat motors. I will post a follow-up when I get a chance. Ginder75

andrewkafp · May 24, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

Are you able to take a digital pic of the assembly towards the transom end of the motor ? We can tell from that, whether there are missing parts.

rickdb1boat · May 24, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

for what it's worth, it should be locked down in neutral and reverse. The only time you should be able to tilt the lower unit is when you have the shift lever in forward..

andrewkafp · May 24, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

There is a cam on the shift shaft.As the shift shaft is turned Anti-clockwise, the high side of the cam elevates the rod connected to the jaws, pushing them forwaerd and locking them onto the bar.When the remote is pushed forward, the cam is turned to the low side and the return spring on the jaws return it to "released" position. This diagram shows the cam as component no 50 [

Ginder75 · May 25, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

I got a chance to go out and look last night and here is what I found. On the Transom bracket the entire assembly is missing (Parts 30 through 37 in Unicorn's Diagram) Now a new dilema, is it worth trying to find all the parts and fix this problem? I think I have access to a parts motor of similar age, I will see if I can get the parts there. If not I may not worry about this and start looking for an electric start 25. I just added decks, carpet, trolling motor, and battery. So, the added horsepower would be nice and my wife would really like an electric start! I will also look at the Doug Russell website and get a shoping list for my parts. Thanks for all the help and any further advice would be welcomed. Ginder75 P.S. Will work on the digital pictures

andrewkafp · May 25, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

The parts are a bit pricey new.. I would make a stainless steel hook mechanism to stop the motor kicking up in reverse or just get the bits off an old motor.

andrewkafp · Jun 7, 2004

Re: Reverse lock???

Some hooks here on ebay ... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2481394619&category=50439

oldnhbuck · Jun 16, 2010

Re: Reverse lock???

when I originally dropped my LU..the first thing(s) I saw..were that the plastic (bakelite?) "ramp-type" reverse lock parts (2) each being "ramped" to fit together..the lower one in 2 pcs.the other cracked and therefore badly worn..and unuseable..

much internet searching and I found them..ordered them..and received them....the top one (NOT OEM) is now made of (AFTERMARKET) metal..so it must have been a quite common problem..

as time and problems on the entire boat 'job' were slowly solved and put to bed.. I finally reached the point where I had to reinstall the LU...

a trip to my local Merc Marina and talk w/ my Merc serv mgr..(who befriended me early on and became a mentor of sorts due to my advance age and "sad eyes"..lol..whenever I talked about fixing this boat)...told me that since I had the hyd. tilt/trim...I had absolutely no need of these parts..leave them out..

I did..

I'm sorry I can't remember where I purchased them...but they ARE available..

one thing I noticed on my 79 90 hp Merc (inline 6) is that it has a thick,,1" wide nylon strap w/ factory sewn ends/loops attached to the motor/and transom bracket assy..looks like it is there to prevent the motor from catapulting up out of the water in reverse and hitting me in the back of the head as I drive in reverse..is that a factory strap?

ps..I don't have any probs now shifting into reverse..motor stay where its supposed to thanks to hydraulics of tilt/trim...

just my 2 cents..

Reverse lock???

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