Dersu Uzala
Cadet
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2009
- Messages
- 9
I acquired a 1988 Evinrude SPL 88hp a few weeks ago. I don?t know its history. I think that the clutch is slipping. At anything above about 2500 rpms there is an occasional jerk and knock in the engine. The rpms and speed do not change noticeably, but the knock and jerk in the engine are obvious. It feels like the engine slips out of gear for an instant.
My first attempt to sort out the problem was to try to adjust the shift cable. There is a knob that allows me to adjust the tension on the cable. That knob was already adjusted to maximum tension. And, with that adjustment when the shift handle is moved forward, it moves the shift lever on the motor all the way forward. There is some stretch in the cable, however. When it is shifted forward, if I pull on the end of the cable, I can pull it back about a ? inch or so.
Next I tried to manually hold the shift lever on the motor with the motor powered up. As the boat hit the area of 2500 rpms, I could not hold the lever forward by hand when it wanted to slip. With the vibration of the motor and angle of my reach, I could not apply much force with my hand. In any event, me trying to hold the lever forward with my hand did not seem to make any difference.
I let go of the lever and just watched what was happening between the cable and the shift lever on the motor. When the rpms got up to about 2500, I could see the shift lever on the motor gradually drift back and then I would get the knock/jerk. It basically drifts back enough that the gear slips for an instant and then snaps back into place.
Next I tried to do hold the shift lever on the motor in the forward position with aid of a wrench handle for leverage. With the wrench handle wedged in and holding the lever forward, the motor hummed along at maximum rpms with no problems.
What does all this add up to? Is the cable supposed to hold the shift lever forward so that I does not slip out of gear? Or, is this a situation where the clutch and gear are worn to the point that it only stays in gear by force? What should I do next?
Any help will be appreciated.
My first attempt to sort out the problem was to try to adjust the shift cable. There is a knob that allows me to adjust the tension on the cable. That knob was already adjusted to maximum tension. And, with that adjustment when the shift handle is moved forward, it moves the shift lever on the motor all the way forward. There is some stretch in the cable, however. When it is shifted forward, if I pull on the end of the cable, I can pull it back about a ? inch or so.
Next I tried to manually hold the shift lever on the motor with the motor powered up. As the boat hit the area of 2500 rpms, I could not hold the lever forward by hand when it wanted to slip. With the vibration of the motor and angle of my reach, I could not apply much force with my hand. In any event, me trying to hold the lever forward with my hand did not seem to make any difference.
I let go of the lever and just watched what was happening between the cable and the shift lever on the motor. When the rpms got up to about 2500, I could see the shift lever on the motor gradually drift back and then I would get the knock/jerk. It basically drifts back enough that the gear slips for an instant and then snaps back into place.
Next I tried to do hold the shift lever on the motor in the forward position with aid of a wrench handle for leverage. With the wrench handle wedged in and holding the lever forward, the motor hummed along at maximum rpms with no problems.
What does all this add up to? Is the cable supposed to hold the shift lever forward so that I does not slip out of gear? Or, is this a situation where the clutch and gear are worn to the point that it only stays in gear by force? What should I do next?
Any help will be appreciated.
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