Forward and reverse but hard to find neutral.

[dvackar]

I have a 98' 25 hp Johnson. Model # 125REDA, at least I think that is the model. I can't find that model in any of the sites that I have visited. The motor will go in forward and reverse but it is hard to find neutral. It has the lever on the front of the engine with a rod running to the side. What could be causing this problem?

 

[dvackar]

Re: Forward and reverse but hard to find neutral.

I forgot to mention, the motor does not have electric start or electric shift.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Forward and reverse but hard to find neutral.

Don't know if this has anything to do with it but when was the last time you changed your lower unit lube?

If it has been awhile I would look at that first, it is an indicator to the state of your lower.

Had an old motor that started having shifting problems turned out it was because there wasn't any oil left in it and water makes a poor lubricant.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Forward and reverse but hard to find neutral.

It could be a linkage adjustment.
Is it tiller or remote?

 

[fix_it]

Re: Forward and reverse but hard to find neutral.

Are you trying to shift it with the throttle set too high? I tried to do that accidentally with my Johnson 20 one time. You could force it out of forward but it would jump right to reverse and vise/versa. This is due to the lockout mechanism. I had shut it off in gear, and was trying to restart it. The rope wouldn't pull out, the I couldn't find neutral. Took me a minute to figure out what was going on.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Forward and reverse but hard to find neutral.

Is this a newly developed problem? Or has it always been that way?
Every E/J tiller motor I've ever owned favored R/F over neutral. Takes practice to find N on both of mine (20 and 25)
First time my girlfriend drove my inflatable we went back and forth for a couple of minutes before she got it.... it was funny (for me).

 

[HybridMX6]

Re: Forward and reverse but hard to find neutral.

I have a 2000 55hp tiller similar to the OP's motor, with the shifter on the front of the engine with a rod going under the hood. If mine's not running it's very hard to tell when I'm in a gear vs. being in neutral. When it's running it's obviously easier since I'm either moving or not. Are you trying this in the water with it running or is it just on a stand or something out of the water?

 

[dvackar]

Re: Forward and reverse but hard to find neutral.

I just got it running again this week. I changed the lower unit oil and rebuilt the carb. When it was cold I fired it up in neutral several times to get it warmed up and the carb. adjusted. Finally I took it for a ride, when I came back, I killed it to back the trailer in. It would not go in neutral when I tried to start it agian. It fired up in forward and almost knocked me out of the boat (kinda dangerous). Can anyone tell me how to adjust the linkage? I'm thinking that may have something to do with it.

 

[dvackar]

Re: Forward and reverse but hard to find neutral.

It has a tiller handle.