Tiller shift rod adjustment 1999 mercury 90 hp

[flylikechris]

Hi all, kind of stumped..

I’m not sure how to tell if my gear shifter is engaging the clutch dogs fully in reverse or forward.

I had my lower unit re-sealed at a reputable local shop. They replaced the reverse clutch because the dogs were worn away. I could always tell reverse was never confidently engaged. The technician theorized that the shift cable was mis-adjusted, or lots of granny shifting (which I know I’ve done, probably previous owners too, it’s easy to do if not paying attention to it in this smokercraft converted to a tiller).

I am checking the shift rod adjustment and found the following:
- In the “original” configuration, neutral position of the tiller shift lever leaves the power head shift mechanism dead on the neutral switch. Unless the tiller is setup wrong, how could this rigid connection be not fully engaging reverse?

- When I disconnect the shift rod from the tiller handle, I can shift the lower unit by hand into reverse, and it slides about 3/8” further than in the original configuration. When I reattach the shift rod to the tiller handle, it’s now 3/8” offset from neutral switch.

I can see that this extra 3/8” of play in reverse does slightly rotate the shift shaft further, but not much. If I go by hand feel, in the original configuration, it’s not on the verge of popping out of reverse and into neutral. These are clutch dogs, so does the extra rotation of shift shaft just slide the dogs further into engagement, but it has no affect on the overall engagement?

So I’m wondering:
1) Do these outboards have so much play in the shift mechanism on the power head, and I’m fine to use the original configuration? In this case, the damage was not Mis-adjusted shifter, and was actually due to granny shifting
2) I have some other fundamental problem that doesn’t allow the full shift stroke.

any thoughts would be much appreciated.

thank you so much,
Chris

 

[Texasmark]

You aren't being ignored, just asked a question with no current knowledgeable folks available. You are on the right track with the tiller mechanism being your smoking gun. What you did in disconnecting was the same thing one does when remote control adjusting in determining is the interface or the engine. If replies are still sluggish, just reply to your post with the word "bump" and that will put it back at the top of the heap with current date and get you more attention.

Just remember that reverse gear are square holes and cogs...when the engine is running, no problem with them lining up for the full shifting distance. When the engine isn't running, or somebody isn't rotating the prop while attempting to shift into R the cogs could be high centered and not in a hole and you can damage your linkage.....per the 90 serv. manual.

Edit: Come to think of it, when I go outside afterwhile, I will pull out my serv. manual and see what it has to say about tillers and setup. Will post if I find anything useful.

 

[flylikechris]

Thank you for the response, it is much appreciated. I will make sure to update this post once I resolve what may be going on.

Thanks again! Maybe I get lucky and the service manual outlines a benchmark.


All the best,
Chris