Need Help with my 1963 10hp Evinrude Sportwin. The reverse is not working. It shifts into reverse just fine, it seems that the water is swirling but the boat does not go anywhere and the prop is not spinning. What could be wrong? Is this an easy fix?
It works great in forward. I have not recently changed or done anything with the impellor. I just received this motor about 2 months ago and today was the first time I tried reverse and it did not work.
Hmm - I guess I would remove the oval plate on the side of the leg and check the shift coupler first. This coupler connects the upper and lower shift rods. The two bolts in the coupler must be tight and must pass through the indent in the ends of the shift rods. If they're not in the indent the motor will not shift correctly. Usually the problem is with forward gear, not reverse. Reverse is in the downward position and you have gravity working with you to keep it in gear. Unless the lower shift rod is pushed too high into the coupler - then it would not go all the way into reverse. If it's not a shift rod adjustment, it may be a worn reverse gear/clutch dog.
Opened up the oval plate and took a look. It seems like everything is moving correctly. The motor is extended about 4 inches so the coupler is a little different. I can only see one bolt and I undid it and made sure it was in correctly and it was.
When I had the upper rod out of the coupler when I took the bolt out I tried to lift up on the coupler/lower rod to see if it would come out, and it didn't. How would I be able to check the lower rod and coupler connection?
It's a long shaft motor - you have to remove the lower unit bolts and the L/U will drop about an inch - then you can access the lower end of the coupler through the gap. Once you take the coupler bolt out be aware that the lower unit will be free and will come off. Have someone hold the L/U while you remove the coupler bolt. Once the L/U is off, you can check the shifting action. Pull the shift rod up, then turn the driveshaft clockwise and the prop will rotate in one direction. Push the shift rod down and prop should rotate in the other direction. Halfway in between should be neutral. To put it back on, it's easier disconnect the upper shift rod from the coupler, properly connect the lower shift rod to the coupler, push the lower shift rod down (reverse), shift the motor into forward with the gear shift, and re-attach the lower unit. Make sure the copper water tubes go back in the grommets on water pump housing. Then look through the access hole, and while shifting into reverse, guide the upper shift rod into the coupler. Then make sure to line up the indent and re-install the upper coupler bolt. Oh, while you're in there, replace the impeller!
Did everything you said and everything seemed to be ok. I did however take off the lower shift rod from the coupler and reinstalled it, it may not have been in the correct spot. I hope everything is working now. I guess we will see next time I take it out. Unless there is a for sure way to know it is working?
"Once the L/U is off, you can check the shifting action. Pull the shift rod up, then turn the driveshaft clockwise and the prop will rotate in one direction. Push the shift rod down and prop should rotate in the other direction."
Did you try this? If the prop rotates in both directions and the shift rods are in the proper position in the coupler, it should be ok.
I did try that and it worked perfectly....but I am just wondering why it wasn't working last Friday when I took it out. Maybe one of the coupler end were just not installed correctly.
Ok...I put it in a big can of water and tried it out. I tried forward, neutral, and then reverse and reverse didn't work.
So I stopped the motor and shifted the motor through the different gears, and tried to turn the prop in each gear. Neutral and Reverse was turning both ways freely. So I started to shift back from neutral to reverse and kept playing with that for about a minute and finally reverse was not able to turn both ways. So I started the motor up again in neutral and then shifted it in to reverse and it worked. So I started shifting back and for between all of the gears and everything as of right now is working.
Do you know why it was not working in the beginning and then all of a sudden started working?
Don't remember whether the shift lever itself is adjustable on that motor. Is there a set-screw or bolt that you can loosen to adjust it? If so, it may need a slight adjustment. For some reason, the shift rod is not pushing down far enough to get it consistently into reverse. The shift lever is the only other thing I can think of unless there is damage to the shift rod (unlikely). Another (obvious) thing - is there oil in the lower unit?
At the base of the shift handle there are TWO fillister head screws that can be loosened to adjust the handle fore-aft to ensure full engagement. The one that runs parallel to the shift shaft is the one that actually holds the handle on, and it has a nut on the back side. The one that runs perpendicular to the shift shaft is the tension screw that holds the handle tight to the shaft. Loosen both to adjust the handle position so that it is centered on the cam in neutral and engages full forward and reverse positions...
- Scott
Reverse not working on a 1963 10HP Evinrude!
Re: Reverse not working on a 1963 10HP Evinrude!
Linear Mode
