another OMC lost reverse

Ok , I've had this 1989 Bayliner capri cuddy with 5.7l fro 8 years now. Replaced the drive last year, over 50 hrs on it no problems. Now 1st time out since september and reverse was not fully engaging. got out to island cottage ok. Now I have no reverse. I disconnected lower shift cable and did get it to engage while spinning prop once, put back together and now have no reverse at all. I suspect / hope/pray it is just a worn shift cable???

My immediate concern is I am on an island, in Georgian Bay, I can make due without reverse but am I causing damage using fwd? can I cruse around or am I in imminent danger of blowing my drive? My lower drive cable is black....I read somewhere that the replacements were red? could this be an original cable? Boat has 650 hrs on it, 300 on motor. 5L suffered hydraulic lock :-(
Thanks,
Paul

Re: another OMC lost reverse

Sounds like the cable gave up, the crimp on the underwater drive end of the cable sheath rotted out on mine and it would go into forward but not reverse, then it got to where I could not pull it out of forward gear at all.
If it is a cable issue as I think it is, shouldn't hurt the drive at all running it in forward gear.

Re: another OMC lost reverse

How was it shifting just before you lost reverse? Was it hard to shift from forward to neutral? What RPM is it shifting at?

Regarding running it without reverse, if the problem is with the shift cable or linkage, it won't hurt the drive provided the forward gear is fully engauged and not slipping. If you have broken or chipped clutch dogs or teeth, then you will cause further damage by continuing to run it.

Sorry I never closed this off. Adjustment gave me shift back. New cable was the fix, easy to do following instructions to a T. Thanks!

thanks for coming back to bring closure to the thread.

Thanks for the update, Paul.

It's good to see your back.

Yes thanks for the follow up! On the Cobra system its good to remember that it is a 2 cable system and both must be adjusted correctly for it to shift right into both gears. The transom shift cable is the one that most think of first, that is adjusted up on the engine end using the 2 special tools, one to hold the pivot housing bell crank at 90*, the other to set the length of the transom shift cable at the engine shifter bracket. But keep in mind that the remote cable that goes from the control, to the engine mounted bell crank is what moves the transom cable ultimately. If this is not adjusted right you will have enough throw in one direction but not in the other. You want equal throw into FWD and REV on either side of NEUTRAL. I usually mark these positions on the transom shift cable to make sure it is moving the same distance back and forth from neutral....