lower unit

How can you tell if one of your gears has gone bad? I have a 200 Johnson that runs great in forward, but when I put it in reverse and give it alot of throttle it sounds terrible. It does fine if I'm going real slow. I changed the gear lube today-it was not milky, but very dark in color.

Re: lower unit

Your shift linkage may be out of adjustment. Check the cables at both ends. If the hold down screw got loose it would allow the cable to shift. This would give you a positive engagement in one direction and a partial engagement the other way. With the motor in neutral (NOT RUNNING) watch the shift linkage under the middle of the engine beneath the carbs. Have someone shift it foward and watch the rod and the lingage then try Nuetral and then reverse. The N should be centered and F and R should be equal travel.<br /><br />That is the "soft on your wallet" check. Otherwise, you might have to have the lowerunit checked. If you had any impellar work done someone may have loosened the linkage to reach the bolt.<br /><br />Bob

Re: lower unit

you said the lube is a dark color!!!<br />if it looked GRAY when you removed the cap you<br />most likely have reverse gear damage!!!