losing reverse on my '71 evinrude sportfisher I/O

mk_bovee · #1 September 14th, 2009, 03:50 AM

last night i took the boat out for a little fishing trip to one of our local bays here in MI. after getting the boat off the trailer, i tried to put it in reverse to back away from the launch dock, but it kept killing the engine as soon as i hit the reverse switch. the week prior i had it out without any troubles, so it is a new problem for me.

any suggestions as to what teh problem and any fixes may be?

Bond-o · #2 September 14th, 2009, 07:06 AM

Ayuh,...What Motor,..?? What Drive,..??

mk_bovee · #3 September 14th, 2009, 06:49 PM

it has the I-4 120 HP, and im not sure what the outdrive is, but it says sterndrive on the top of it. maybe if i post a pic of the drive you can identify it.

Howard Sterndrive · #4 September 14th, 2009, 09:19 PM

killing engine sounds like bearings in the outdrive packed it in.

Drain all 3 drive oil compartments and see which one's oil is full of grey metallic chunks....

Also could be the electrical load of a shorted reverse coil resulting in the ignition cutting out due to a drop in system voltage.