OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

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grandpax7

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My father in law has a fiberform with omc, he says that when out in the water that it sticks in forward and or reverse and has to shut off motor to get it back into neutral, but when on dry land doesn't do it. I said that it is a possiblity that when the prop is building pressure to push boat along compared to on dryland, that it sounds to me that it is a gear issue in outdrive. Am I close or far off.
 
Levinz11

Levinz11

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

Sounds like his ESA isn't working. Do a search on that and you'll find several threads on how to diagnose and repair. It is a system that studders the engine while shifting out of gear....which reduces the torque from the engine on the drive and makes it easier or in his case possible.
 
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howlnmad

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

Levinz11 said:
Sounds like his ESA isn't working. Do a search on that and you'll find several threads on how to diagnose and repair. It is a system that studders the engine while shifting out of gear....which reduces the torque from the engine on the drive and makes it easier or in his case possible.
Click to expand...

That would be the first thing that I would look into.
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

What OMC drive is this?

I may be wrong but i don't think they even made Fiberforms by the time the Cobras were out.

To the other posters on this thread. Better to find out what model before giving advice that may be incorrect.
 
Levinz11

Levinz11

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

bruceb58 said:
What OMC drive is this?

I may be wrong but i don't think they even made Fiberforms by the time the Cobras were out.

To the other posters on this thread. Better to find out what model before giving advice that may be incorrect.
Click to expand...

Good point. Glad I added Bob's disclaimer to my sig. :facepalm:
 
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grandpax7

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

It is actually a cobra, not sure the size, but it does have a cobra tag on it
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

Can you let us know the year/model of the engine/drive? Does it have the original distributor?

Have you tested the ESA by pushing on the shift switch to see if it stumbles the engine?
 
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grandpax7

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

1978 24 ft. fiberform with OMC Cobra. MOD 986032 serial T075879 engine 4.3L what it is doing I have found out is that when I teste ESA and ground the wire and or checking the switches that the motor is actually dieing. When I slowly move the stick forward or reverse I can get the system to work but kills the motor. So in order to get it into gear you have to move quick. Also it has the GM Electronic distributor not points.
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

Cobras didn't come out until 1986 so that is strange. Somewhat must have put it on an older boat. That model number is a 1990 OMC Cobra drive.

Can you show a picture of the distributor? When people say GM distributor, it can mean many things.

Generally, you have to do a whole lot of modifications to get as ESA to work with an electronic distributor. If you have the Delco EST distributor you can get an ESA to work but it has to be the aftermarket CDI brand ESA.
 
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grandpax7

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

Not a problem but I uploaded a picture of the boat 2012-07-12 20.03.34.jpg
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

Hopefully, a picture of the distributor is coming next?
 
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grandpax7

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

2012-07-20_17-35-29_982.jpg ok here is distributor, and yes this not factory installation, I keep getting info everyday, something different from father in law.
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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Re: OMC hangs in forward and reverse when in water

That is an automotive distributor. Not only is it not safe to use in a boat, you will never get it to work with an ESA.

By the way, it is also not a 4.3L engine because a 4.3L is a V-6 and that distributor has 8 spark plug wires on it.

If that drive really is model number 986032, it also not geared properly for a V-8.

You can either find a points distributor to replace it or buy the Delco EST and then you have a couple options to do a shift interrupt with it. One is with a CDI ESA and the other is wire up your shift switch like a Mercruiser does.
 
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