1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

so, i had my boat in the shop after i bought it to have a new impeller and the lower unit sealed before i ever got it on the water. went on the water yesterday for the first time. launched go to put in reverse and while its in reverse there is a constant clicking noise and and reverse not working so i pulled back a little more and it throttled up and clicking gos faster naturally as motor wound up so i put in neutral and just used my trolling motor to back up... FWD gear works perfectly, no clicks and "thuds" into gear as it should... what gets me is reverse works great on muffs..... no clicks, spins like it should..... could it be the clutch dog? cable slack? or could have something happen when the lower unit was dropped in the shop? thank you

Re: 1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

and no sounds that sound like a "grinding" sound... but while in reverse the sound of the clicking is kinda light, but there is a small vibration from the clicking that goes through the shift cable all the way to the command center shift lever/throttle... i only have one lever that shifts and throttles in one motion if that matters. thanks

Re: 1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

I'm thinking shift cable adjustment or linkage, the bit of added torque from the prop pushing against water might be just enough to stop the dog from engaging completely hence the clicking noise.

Re: 1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

Agree, shift cable mis-adjustment is the first place to start. If you can't adjust the shift cable (under the cowling) to compensate for the shift problem, then look for second problem. The person that installed the water pump may have caused a problem. If the shift rod in the lower unit was turned during the water pump installation, possible the shift rod height is now incorrect, causing the reverse shifting problem. Try to adjust the cable first- to see if you can compensate. Likely this will fix the problem. If, after fiddling with the adjustment, it just won't work, you may have to pull the lower unit and recheck/adjust the height measurement on the shift rod to the correct factory spec. Disconnect the shift cable at the engine end, then run the engine on the trailer. Try to shift the lower unit by hand. If it works with this manual method-then it's just an adjustment. Adjust the knurled nud on the cable end-to get it to match the shift range of the lever.

Re: 1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

i put it in reverse with the motor off and tried to spin the prop by hand and it turns the motor when i try to spin it as it does in forward gear. ok, i will look at it later this week, raining like crazy here right now. thanks

Re: 1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

OK. Ima work on it today.... here would be my next question. If I were to adjust the cable would it take away from the forward if I adjusted it to the rear? Or if it is over adjusted to forward is there a drag feature that would compensate for the over adjustment to the fwd? The reason I ask as I said I have one lever that throttles and shifts in one motion and it seems that I have to move the level the same amount to fwd as I do to reverse to get it in gear on muffs.both ways it seems I have to move the lever kinda far to get it in either gear but its OK cause it shifts before it starts pulling the throttle.

Re: 1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

Yes, if you adjust for more reverse clutch engagement, it will take away from the forward adjustment, but should not reduce the amount of engagement of the clutch/gear in forward. The normal shift range of the control box (and cables) should provide for equal gear engagement for both forward and reverse gears at the engine, depending on how it is adjusted. If you adjust it on the trailer at home, it's always possible you may need to re-adjust the shifting once you get the boat back in the water. The true test is how it shifts under power, in the lake.

Re: 1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

OK thanks all for the replays. I get it figured out eventually. Thank you once again.

Re: 1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

well, after messing with it on muffs i ended up adjusting it about 10 or so turns, kinda adjusted more for reverse by a turn or so extra.... i payed more attention when shifting and as shifting i watch where the cable connects to the shifter... shifting forward its solid, no click, no mater how fast or slow i shift it (i know your suppose to shift it kinda fast but for test porpouses i did it slow a few times) when going into reverse going slow it clicks like 2 small times as it locks... shifting fast seems to lock but i dont know if when shifting fast i dont notice the clicks or not (if they are even there while shifting fast) could it still be a clutch dog?

Re: 1978 85HP johnson outboard no reverse in water, but reverse works on muffs.

Yes.......