88SPL Lower Unit

kurtaiden

Cadet
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
18
1988 88SPL J88MSLCUS

Just got boat back from shop. Put in and ran around the river for a while. Engine runs great and everything is good. After an hour or two of cruising around I feel a minor jolt or almost a hesitation i guess. Like the little jolt you feel when you hit something under the surface very small. Didnt think anything of it until it happened again a few minutes later. At this time I was low on fuel so I thought hmm maybe its just an air bubble so I continued back to the marina. Fueled up and went back out. Its still doing it. I dont think its the engine because the rpms dont change when it happens. Could this be a sign of the lower unit going? It goes in and out of gear perfectly. Also is this a symptom of a spun hub? Let me say however that this is very intermittent. Once every couple minutes or so, especially when getting up onto plane.
 

Haffiman

Commander
Joined
Dec 17, 2009
Messages
2,454
Re: 88SPL Lower Unit

Check your shift cable adjustment.
When in neutral the shift arm on engine must be vertical, if not your shift rod ( from gearcase) needs to be adjusted.
Then the travel on your remote should be the same from neutral to forward and neutral to reverse.
 

emdsapmgr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Messages
11,551
Re: 88SPL Lower Unit

The clutch dog is losing contact with the gear face when the engine is under load. If the previously mentioned shift cable adjustment does not cure the problem, you will have to have a tech tear into the lower unit. Running engine with the lower unit with this condition is really hard on the gear faces and clutch.
 
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