[cionjay]

I am trying to figure out what could be the problem. I was cruising and all of a sudden the lower unit pops out of gear. I can not get it to go forward or reverse. when i shift it foward i can see the linkage move and the shift rod move when i move it. I have a shop manual but it does not say anything about this problem. The shift cables feel stiff when i put it in foward and reverse. Any help with this would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks

[cionjay]

I forgot to mention that when i put it in gear I hear no grinding and never before eard any grinding and the engine will rev up when I try to put it in gear both for foward and reverse. The prop just will not spin.

Thanks

[tashasdaddy]

Welcome to iboats. several possiblities. bad cable., disconnect at engine, and move the engine linkage manually. the next is a spun prop. the prop is made of an inner and outer metal hub. connect with a pressed in rubber bushing. this bushing is known to fail, and is there to protect the lower unit, if the prop hits something. draw a line across the prop as in the picture. give it a try in the water, if the line is still lined up it is not the prop. from here the senario get worse.

[cionjay]

I will try this when I get home from work today. thanks

[Walker]

Also the possibility of a broken driveshaft or clutch dog.

[ezeke]

It is faster to check for a spun prop by using the cotter pin as a pointer and simply making your index mark on the outer hub. That way you don't need to remove anything.

[cionjay]

I did as you said. i can hear it shift up and down but nothing will engage and the prop marks do not move. If it were the clutch dog I guess i would hear some kind of grinding noise, but in my case i do not. so i would imagine that it is the drive shaft that broke. I am scared to find out how much money it would cost to fix it and i'm not sure if i want to sink any more money into this motor. maybe i can talk to the wife about buying the E-tec. Thanks for your help.

[cionjay]

I was wondering if this motor has an electronic idle mech. because on the controls there is a button that can be pressed and you can then move the controls foward to rev up the engine when it is cold. if there is such a thing how would i check this.

thanks again,