Re: lower unit slack
That's normal. You're just feeling the free play before the ears engage.<br /><br />Here's a typical outboard forward gear and the "clutch dog" which drives the propshaft:<br />
<br />The little ears sticking out of the clutch engage with the lobes just inside the gear teeth. That is to say, the clutch dog ears fit into the wide space between the centre of the gear (where the propshaft goes through) and the gear's teeth. Then they strike the lobes.<br />The gear is always spinning when the engine is running, but it spins freely on the prop shaft. The clutch dog on the other hand is bound to the shaft, so when it engages the gear, the propshaft spins. <br />If you look closely, you can see where one of the ears on the clutch dog has been damaged by easing the engine into gear.
