[RMedus]

Hello all,I just bought a used bass boat and it has a 1978 Evinrude motor on it. Of coarse the man I bought it from told me how great it ran and how it would pull a skier....(suspicions arose) The motor did start and since we had no water hooked up only ran it a few seconds. Took the boat home, and being a Jet engine mechanic,.... I tested the motor with muffs on it. Ran like crap. Pulled the cover, Intake cover and got down to the carbs. When I pulled the bowl drain plug, NOTHING CAME OUT!! Middle cylinder poured fine, Bottom Nothing again. I cleaned the carbs and put it all back together and it ran really good.So the family and I decided to take a saturday morning fishing trip to a local pond and upon starting the motor she sounded good and I was proud I had done such a good job getting the ole gal to purr.....OK Let's Go......Let's go,.....No forward. I tried reverse and it went in with a klunk. I removed the cowling and watched the linkage as I tried to put it in forward and it "bounces" as if gears are trying to mesh but just won't go in gear. Thank God for trolling motors. Short of rebuilding the whole lower unit. (wallet is flat enough) any other ideas?THanks.Ron.The Fishin Musician.

[moderator1]

Moving to outboards.

[DJ]

RMedus,When you try to shift it to forward, how far does the shift lever (under cowl, under carbs.) go?You shift cables may be misadjusted. You will see two barrel nuts on the shift cable as it enters the engine. They are held in place by a bracket. You can adjust the barrel nut to make sure your shift linkage is getting its full travel.Also, I assume you took the shift cables off to service the carbs? Did you get them on the right linkages? Shift vs. throttle and visa versa?Another thing to try is unhook the shift linkage below the bottom carb. and try shifting it manually.

[RMedus]

dJons19, No I didn't have to disconnect to service the carbs, so I didn't unhook the shift cable. I did try to manually shift the bracket and got the same result, a heavy bumping on the hand as I pushed down the shift lever. I almost dropped the linkage pin in the water. The shift and throttle cables are hooked up to the correct positions. (first thing I looked at)Any further suggestions? I would love to have this boat on the water soon. Thanks.Ron.The Fishin Musician

[DJ]

Rmedus,I'm confused. If you unhook the shift lever (under carbs.) the shift lever (control box & cables) should be completely out of the picture.

[RMedus]

Let me see if I can explain myself better,#1.Shift caple connects to the #2. Linkage, as the shifter moves Forward in this case it pulls the #2. linkage, which pushes another #3.linkage forward rotating to push down on the #4. rod going into the lower unit.I disconnected the #2 Linkage and tried to rotate #3. Linkage to push #4 Rod down. That is when I got the Non meshing gear action.Is that clear as mud?Maybe I should just put a jet engine on the boat.I am a jet engine Mechanic. Boats are different.

[Hooty]

djohns19,I think what hez saying is the shift lever under the carb bumped his hand (the part about the linkage pin). I'm wondering how fast this thing is idling. Should idle about 900-1000rpms in the water and out of gear, 700-800rpms in the water in gear. If it's not idling to fast, I think clutch dogs are wore out.c/6Hooty

[RMedus]

Thanks Hooty. I guess I need to get a clutch dog.I have ordered a tech manual for the motor. Maybe I can get her running soon.Thanks.Ronthe Fishin musician.

[RMedus]

Well, The place I ordered the Manual from doesn't have one for my motor. So how hard is it to replace the clutch dog? and any ideas where I can go to find a manual for the 1978 75 hp evinrude?ThanksRon