[Kipp Norris]

I run a 70 HP Evinrude on my 21 ft. Lavro Sea Dory on the salt water here in Valdez, Alaska. I have a shifting problem that I have tried to fix. The boat starts in neutral fine, and it shifts into forward fine, but when I shift into reverse, I hear a clicking and with a little revving of the engine it sometimes catches -- but it's violent. I know this can't be good. I removed the lower unit and verified the shift rod height, as per the manual (21 23/32"), but when I reinstalled it, there was no change. Is there any adjustment in the shifting linkages on the side of the power head? The closest OMC shop is 300 miles, but the trip has to be better than a ruined lower unit -- Any advice?

[OBJ]

Hey Kipp....welcome to iboats.Sounds like the control cable adjustment could be a little off.Remove the shift once and maually shift the engine into reverse from the engine. If she goes in OK, then the cable was outta adjustment. Put the engine back in neutral. Reattach the shift cable and adjust till the shift arm, thats' the vertical lever coming out from under the carb, is straight up and down. Turn the trunion nut on the control cable to do this. Put a little tension on the control cable while holding the shift lever verticle to take up any slop in the cable. Tighten down the clip over the trunion to lock the cable in place.Hope this works for you.....keep us posted.

[Kipp Norris]

Originally posted by OBJ: Hey Kipp....welcome to iboats.Sounds like the control cable adjustment could be a little off.Remove the shift once and maually shift the engine into reverse from the engine. If she goes in OK, then the cable was outta adjustment. Put the engine back in neutral. Reattach the shift cable and adjust till the shift arm, thats' the vertical lever coming out from under the carb, is straight up and down. Turn the trunion nut on the control cable to do this. Put a little tension on the control cable while holding the shift lever verticle to take up any slop in the cable. Tighten down the clip over the trunion to lock the cable in place.Hope this works for you.....keep us posted.

[Kipp Norris]

Mr. OBJ,I want to thank you for the very quick response. I'm busy, even at night, trying to wrap up school for the year -- then I'll be ready to try your advice. Probably in the next few days. One part of your post has me scratching my head. You wrote, "Remove the shift once and maually shift the engine into reverse from the engine....." I understand the rest of your post, and I think I understand this part, but want to make sure of it. You mean that I need to disconnect the shift rod where it enters the top part of the engine, -- right where it connects to the knuckle that pushes the shift rod down for reverse and pulls it up for forward, right?

[OBJ]

Sorry Kipp....should proof read these darn things before I post them.What I was saying is, remover the shift cable where it connects to the shift lever and shift the lever by hand.Hope that clears it up for you.Kipp....being so far from a dealer or wrench, why not invest in a manual? Would really help you out when running into these problems.Here's a couple place you can get reprints of the original manuals. http://www.marineengine.com/manuals/..._pre-1980.html http://ww3.kencook.com/evinrudejohnsonmanuals/ You can also get the generics, Seyloc or Clymers from right here on iboats. See the bottom of the page.