1989 50 hp force -- wont shift to forward

I had to replace my lower unit. know its all together, shifts fine when not in water. Drop it in water, then it wont shift to forward. It just rattles. I tried to adjust linkage up in the top endbeside motor and also adjusted the linkage going to lower unit. Do I have something messed up inside? It seened pretty simple in there so don't know what I could have done wrong. Please help. Big walleye season is coming.

Re: 1989 50 hp force -- wont shift to forward

do i need to pull everything apart again

Re: 1989 50 hp force -- wont shift to forward

Did you rebuild it, or install one you bought used? Sounds like a simple adjustment. I just had to replace mine with one off ebay, but when I swapped it out, i did not have to mess with the adjustment. After i removed the 4 bolts, and upper shift rod bolt to partially drop the unit, i removed the little cotter pin ( next to the water pump -on the shift shaft ) so I wouldnt have to screw with adjustments. Adjustments are so critical on these little motors. I may buy a manuel if one is still available. Good luck. Give me ALL the details.

Re: 1989 50 hp force -- wont shift to forward

Sounds to me like you had it apart.Correct? If you did not get the small brass shift yoke in the slots of the control arm when you re-assembled it, It may appear to shift on land but will definitely not go into gear in the water. And the dog clutch may slide against one of the gears, causing a rattle.

The "rattling" in the water is what worries me. The drive dogs on both the gears and the dog clutch should have fairly sharp edges. If they are rounded, then the lower unit will go into gear but will bounce back out with a thump or a rattle. The speed at which this happens depends on the amount of wear. The more wear, the lower speed at which it jumps out of gear and the more often it pops out--rattle vs. thump.

And of course, It could be improper adjustment. Total throw from forward to reverse is only about 1/2 inch. Not much.

Re: 1989 50 hp force -- wont shift to forward

I needed a new lower unit housing, ordered a used one, wrong one, found another one that was sold disasembled. I had the "guts" from my original one, but used all of the parts from the one I purchased. I have the parts that I started with also but did not use any. I was pretty sure that the brass piece was on the pegs when I put it together. It shifts fine into reverse, so I figured it was adjustments. I made adjustments and could not get it to shift right yet. The rattle does sound like the gears are not engaging and just rattling together.