The stern drive (290) pops out of gear at higher rpms-i.e., propeller stopped turning, and the rpms reved up (because no longer in gear).<br /><br />It will drive/propel at low rpms, but it pops out of gear at about 1700 rpms.<br /><br />Also, it idles great, but when I put it into gear and accelerated the engine ran pretty bad and would try to quit. It had been running good, could this be due to the drive problem? Motoring at slow speeds it ran ok, but as soon as I increased the speed/rpms it ran bad and then the stern drive popped out of gear, causing the rpms to rev up. What could cause the stern drive to pop out of gear? Improper shift linkage?<br /><br />I took the shift mechanism cover off and looked at the gears (appeared ok) and the shift post (?) which also looked like it had some wear but was basically ok, and the spring for the shift post (hard to tell if ok or not). May this be caused by a bad spring or improper shift linkage, or is there a bigger problem in the stern drive upper or lower unit?
