penta 270 pops out of gear

just got me a new boat a week or 2 ago and took it out for my first fishing trip yesterday out in st helens.
everything seems great on the boat except sometimes when in forward it seems to pop out of gear for just a second and then pop right back in.
it seemed to me like it was mostly doing it at slower speeds of 5mph or less but it also did it a couple times when i was going faster.

anyone know what this could be?
i still havent gotten the manual for this boat i have to go meet up with the guy i bought it from and pick it up because he just found it.

it is a 1971 21' glastron with volvo penta motor and 270 outdrive.

it doesnt seem like to big of a deal right now, but i did have another boat that did this before and then when i was right in the middle of the channel of the columbia in longview the motor wouldnt go into forward, it was a pretty scary experience because there were big cargo ships using the channel too that were about 2 stories tall and i just dont wanna go through that again (luckfully we got a tow)
after we got towed to the dock we tried it again before we pulled it out of the water and it went right into gear.

i think it was the same outdrive on that boat to and what i would guess is that it is something to do with the electric shift not working properly.
can anyone tell me if i am wrong on this and if so what it might be?
also if i am right how hard would it be to fix myself when i get the book, and about how much something like that would hurt my wallet.

Re: penta 270 pops out of gear

Sounds like your previous drive may have been an OMC, since the Volvo 270 is not electric shift. There also isn't any way for it to pop out of gear and back in. It's a cone clutch. It might slip, but not Jump out of gear and back in.
Have you checked the drive oil for water? (NOTE: on a 270 it's engine oil, not gear lube)
You can also pull the back cover off the drive and make sure the shift mechanism it going all the way into gear.

Re: penta 270 pops out of gear

alright thanks i will check the oil in the drive.
never got a chance to check that before i took it out, i had to many other problems to fix. mainly my truck the oil cooler gasket went out and that took alot of my day trying to find that and then getting it in.

i just figured thats what it was doing was popping out of gear (for some reason)
but your right it was just slipping because the engine did not rev up everytime it did it, it just stayed at the same rpm

Re: penta 270 pops out of gear

checked the oil in the outdrive yesterday and it had alot of water in it, the oil was completely white.
is it just some seels that need to be replaced?
how much am i looking at spending on this?
how hard would it be to fix myself if i have the manual?

Re: penta 270 pops out of gear

If you have water in the oil, first place to check is to see if there is water in the bellows.

is it just some seels that need to be replaced?

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Impossible to say without know where the water is getting in at.

how much am i looking at spending on this?

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Let me get this right, we don't know where it's leaking, or why, or anything else and you want to know how much it's going to cost to fix it?

how hard would it be to fix myself if i have the manual?

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I have no idea, if you can or not, still don't know where it's leaking.