15 evinrude stuck in reverse

[tryus]

Hi I have a 1980 something evinrude 15 hp. It seems to be stuck in reverse. I have the bottom leg off at the moment and the top half of gear selector rod moves freely but bottom half is really stiff and don't seem to change the gear. The shaft spins the same way if the lever is up or down. Please help as I am dieing to get it on the boat and replace my 7.5 mercury

 

[OptsyEagle]

Not sure exactly what the problem is. Obviously for the LU to drop down the 1 inch or so it requires for you to disconnect the shift rod, the lever needs to be in forward gear and the gears needs to move into reverse. In this condition the LU can drop an extra inch on the shift rod.

Once the lower unit is removed the lever above will move freely since it is just the shift rod moving up and down. Shifting gears by pulling up on the shift rod on the lower unit is a little difficult. You can try moving the propeller as you pull but remember it is in reverse so you may need to turn it the opposite direction. In any event, the LU will need to be put back into reverse before you push the LU up into the mid-section so that you can re-connect the shift rod.

Now if it was stuck before you dropped the lower unit, my question would be, have you removed the small Phillips screw in the lower unit, lately. Did the shifter move freely when the LU was connected or was it seized in reverse?

 

[tryus]

I only bought it yesterday. It was supposed to be running. After cleaning the carb I got it running and realised it's stuck in reverse. The lever was full of silt and sand. It's looser now but don't change gear. It seems something has come undone in the gearbox

 

[tryus]

The gear lever moves with the luxury on. it's a bit stiff but no gear change

 

[Tim Frank]

my question would be, have you removed the small Phillips screw in the lower unit, lately.

....or did the previous owner?

 

[OptsyEagle]

So when the motor is in one piece the lever moves but the gears do not change? If this is the case, when you removed the lower unit and moved the shifter, did you see the shift rod move up and down? Also, when the LU is removed, does the shift rod move up and down with no change in gears or is it stuck?

 

[Tim Frank]

The way I read OP, upper mechanism is OK, the gear-case contains the problem.
If so, I'm afraid the only option is to open it up and see what is going on inside.

 

[tryus]

Hi yes and yes. The rod was moving up and down when engine was complete but no gear change. The selector was stiff compared to my mercury. Now separated the top half of gear shifter is free and loose but bottom half is really stiff. It does move up and down when prop is in certain position. If I spin the prop clockwise with gear lever up shaft turns clockwise. If I spin the prop with gear lever down the shaft spins clockwise. Surely the shaft should spin anti clockwise in one of the positions.

 

[OptsyEagle]

Not necessarily. If the shift lever moves relatively freely without the gears changing, then I would suspect that the previous owner pulled out that Phillips screw and now the unit will not pivot and allow the gears to change.

If this is the case, I would first try removing the Phillips screw and try to see if I could snafu that hole of the carriage that the Phillips screw is supposed to go into. Perhaps with something smaller then the Phillips screw that might even be able to go in on a slight angle all while slowly moving the shift rod from above.

I have not had this problem personally but I have heard of people getting that Phillips screw back into place and fixing the shifting problem, without having to disassemble the gearcase. It is a longshot but the Phillips screw will have to come out to disassemble the gearcase anyways and it is worth a shot.

All this is provided, that the shifter currently moves relatively freely but no gears change.

Here is a picture of what we are dealing with here. It is not the gearcase of a 15Hp motor but probably very similar. My guess here is that pivot pin may have been removed and now the mechanism that is supposed to pivot on that pivot pin is not moving freely and not pivoting. Without that the gears will not shift.

 

[tryus]

Hi yes and yes. The rod was moving up and down when engine was complete but no gear change. The selector was stiff compared to my mercury. Now separated the top half of gear shifter is free and loose but bottom half is really stiff. It does move up and down when prop is in certain position. If I spin the prop clockwise with gear lever up shaft turns clockwise. If I spin the prop with gear lever down the shaft spins clockwise. Surely the shaft should spin anti clockwise in one of the positions. Also I have removed the screw on the lower leg and had a look. Gear rod moves freely with screw out but stiff when back in. ( I lined it back up in the hole)

 

[OptsyEagle]

Here is the picture

Edit: Sorry I cannot seem to get a picture to post here. Never took 3 tries before. Really makes you wonder what they achieved with the so called upgrade of this site a while back.

 

[OptsyEagle]

No Title

 

[tryus]

I have taken the pin out and it seems to be in line with the hole it's supposed to go in.

 

[tryus]

Replacement gearbox I think

 

[OptsyEagle]

If I spin the prop clockwise with gear lever up shaft turns clockwise. If I spin the prop with gear lever down the shaft spins clockwise. Surely the shaft should spin anti clockwise in one of the positions. Also I have removed the screw on the lower leg and had a look. Gear rod moves freely with screw out but stiff when back in. ( I lined it back up in the hole)

I can't remember which way the prop spins when you are in forward, etc., but I assume that you tried both directions with the shifter up and down. I would imagine you should have a neutral point where the prop should spin in both directions. Since you don't seem to have this I am starter to concur with Tim that the gearcase will need to come apart. Something must be bound up in there.

Before you take it apart you will need to remove the lower unit oil. Keep a close look out for metal shavings etc. Maybe a gear is broken or the shift dog is all chewed up.

Maybe someone else have some thoughts. If you do take the gearcase apart you may want to change all the seals.

 

[tryus]

Thanks. I changed the oil earlier whilst playing. I'll attempt to remove the gearing the weekend probably.

 

[tryus]

Replaced gearbox now sweet. Apart from I have had to wind the slow running screw right in to get it to idle. So far in fact I have no throttle in neutral it's wound right up to the plate which restricts revving in neutral?

 

[Ryan0186]

If you can't figure it out check around for a part engine. I see LU's all the time on CL for that size motor down here in SC. I am sure that you can find something. A 9.9 HP parts engine will also swapp directly if you can fid one.

 

[OptsyEagle]

You can check the carb synchronization. As you turn the throttle you will notice that a metal piece (throttle cam) comes around and pushes on the roller of your carburetor to open the carbs butterfly and provide more gas. To ensure everything is in sync you should see a mark on that throttle cam. The mark should be in the center of that roller JUST as the cam hits the carbs roller. If the mark is too far to the portside of that roller your motor will not be getting the correct amount of gas AND your spark timing advance will be off.

Also, if you can get it to idle for a while, try pulling one cylinder's spark plug boot at a time to ensure that they are both working. The motor should be able to run on either cylinder so if it dies you know the other cylinder was not firing or is very weak. If you can't get it to idle for this test, then I would at least do an external spark test of each cylinder to ensure the ignition is strong enough for the spark to jump a 3/8" gap.

Also, make sure your choke is opening and closing properly. Dialing in that slow running screw is leaning out the carb, which means it must have been or is running rich. The other possibility for running too rich is if the fuel pump is leaking, but it should only cause a problem on one cylinder, probably killing it. Anyway, easy to test. Remove the two screws that hold the pump to the motor (while keeping the two screws that hold the fuel pump together in tact). Now connect up your gas tank and pump the primer bulb. If no fuel leaks out, then you don't have a flooding problem.

 

[tryus]

Thankyou I will try these things. The engine is on the boat noe so ill try it out next time I'm down there