1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

[RoryDominick]

Hey this is my first time posting so if I'm not doing it right sorry. My 88 evinrude 88hp just started doing this. When i put it in forward gear from neutral it seems to engage but about 5 seconds or so afterwards it clunks like I've hit something under water and kind of jolts and then runs fine. If anyone could give me an idea whats going on that would be great. Thanks

 

[wilde1j]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

Does it do this at planing speeds? How often?

 

[RoryDominick]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

It may have once while up and running before I noticed it at idle but at the time I just thought it was somthing in the water like a small submerged log or somthing. It does it about every third or fourth time I put it in gear from idle.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

It's either shift cable adjustment or worn fwd gear/clutch dog most likely. Popping out of gear due to worn fwd gear/clutch dog usually shows first as popping out of gear at speed and starts to become more frequent over time. Try the cable adjustment first.

 

[RoryDominick]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

I will try to adjust the shift cable first. A new clutch dog is about 100 bucks from what I've seen. I have a repair manual but how complicated is it really to change.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

If the clutch dog is bad, the fwd gear is usually as well. The job isn't too bad unless it's a saltwater motor. You need a special tool to hold the driveshaft while removing the pinion nut and another special tool for shimming the prop shaft for correct pinion gear engagement. Failure to shim properly will cause rapid pinion/gear wear.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

had the lower unit been off just before this started, could be some one turn the shift rod, making it out of adjustment. but sounds more like stretched of bad cable.

 

[CaptainHook]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

I had this problem last year with my neighbor's boat. It was a shift cable adjustment.

At the price things go for on ebay these days i might just look for a complete lower unit if the shift cable doesn't fix it.

Of course i would be very particular who I bought from and check into seller feedback if you went that route.....

 

[RoryDominick]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

Will the lower unit from a 1978 85 hp evinrude fit on my 1988 88 hp. If not what years and hp will. Thanks

 

[Topol_86]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

From what i've been able to find, no, the lower units aren't interchangeable. I just did a lower unit swap, This thread was was brought to my attention, it was a great help.http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=359907 You can also look up your motor through this site http://www.boats.net/parts/search/BRP/EVINRUDE/parts.html just put in model year, then find your model number in the list. It'll bring up an online parts catalog. Find "gearcase" and select it, it will then display an entire breakdown of your lower unit, click on "GEARCASE AND BRG ASSY" and it'll display a list of all years and models that use the same lower unit. Hope this helps!

 

[RoryDominick]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

Thanks Topol, great help!

 

[Topol_86]

Re: 1988 Evinrude 88 hp clunks after put in gear

Happy to keep passing the knowledge along that was so kindly passed to me