Outboard stuck in forward

[$oad1970]

Before i start let me say i don't know much about boat motors.
Ok my problem is I have a 30hp Yamaha outboard not sure of the year but around 2-5 years old. It's stuck in forward, the gear change lever on the side moves freely and looks like it is moving to the correct position but when its in reverse or neutral the prop is still going forward. The motor still only starts in neutral but even then the prop is spinning forward, nothing unusual happened before this problem started. I stopped the motor to do some fishing and when it came time to move on i started the motor as normal but started to idle forward when in neutral and the same when i shifted it into reverse. I have had a look at the gear change shaft and it moves a little (not sure how much it should move) when moving the gear change lever from neutral to reverse and the nuts where the shaft joins seem to be together (one small/short nut on the bottom and a bigger/longer one on top. Any help would be appreciated and if you need more info just ask and i will see what i can do.

[boats.net]

Drain gearcase oil and check for water in oil or metal on screw magnet, that would mean probably have gearcase problems. Check linkage on engine to see if anything broken or loose.

[$oad1970]

Ok I have drained and changed the gear oil and it looks fine and no metal on the screw magnet, I have taken the lower unit off and had a look (not that i am 100% sure of what I'm looking at or looking for). The lower part of the gear shift shaft moves freely by hand from rev,ntl and frd and the prop responds accordingly and the upper part off the shaft moves ok with the gear change lever but when i put it back together ( with the lever and lower unit in ntl ) it went from neutral into reverse then into forward but that was it from then on it stays in forward when i move the gear change lever. I can change the shaft from forward to neutral manually via the shaft and the prop responds but as soon as i place it back into forward i can't change it back with the lever. I did notice that when the lower unit was off and i was using the gear lever it changed ok but as i placed it into reverse or neutral from forward (lowering/dropping the shaft downwards) it could be pushed up by hand, it seems as though the top half of the shaft doesn't have enough enough power to push the lower half down. Hope i have made myself clear enough to understand.
Thanks Paul.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Disconnect the shifter cable end at the engine and try shifting the remote control while watching the shifter cable.

Sounds like the cable may be frozen or the issue is in the remote control box (its not shifting, thus the engine itself doesn't get the correct movement), the cable isn't moving due to something in the remote.

Type in your engine info at this link and it'll show the shifter mechanism:

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/partview...(F30TLR_-_2006)

[$oad1970]

Sorry forgot to mention in my first post, it is a tiller motor.....no control box.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Sorry forgot to mention in my first post, it is a tiller motor.....no control box.

No problem. As post #2 states, check the shifting linkages. I believe the link I posted shows all the adjustment area's.

If you have a shop manual it would state specifically how to set it up, what needs to be lined up etc.

Sounds like the linkage may be adjusted a bit too far to click into forward andnot enough to shift into the other direction into reverse. Check for any excessive wear (movement) in any of the linkages, handle, etc. (if there's damage in the case, disregard the above).

Good luck and please post what you come up with..

BTW, there should be a model # for the engine on the transom bracket with some codes(usually 4 letters or so at the end). Thats the model #. Look up that specific year/engine under the "order parts list" here on the forum. It'll show all the shifting linkages, etc and is usually very helpful, especially without a shop manual..

[$oad1970]

I think i have narrowed it down....... When the shift shaft is disconnected (via the two nuts that join the shaft ) I can move the gears from frd, ntl, rve by hand in the lower unit so i am assuming that the lower unit and gear box are ok. The shift lever moves fine and changes ok the motor housing part, can't follow it to far as it goes of into the mid leg ( not sure what its called but the part of the leg between the motor and what the lower unit bolts to ). I can move the top half of the shift shaft by hand at the point where the two shafts connect, i can pull it down to get rve, and up a little for ntl, and up a little more for frd but once it's gets into frd it wont shift back into rve with the shift lever, it moves a little towards ntl but that's as far as it gets ( the lever part moves fine- not sticking) but i can move it back by hand (via the bottom of the shaft ) so i am assuming the problem is some where between where the lever shift goes into the mid leg and when the top half of the shift shaft ends. I have looked at taking of the mid leg but it seems like a lot of work and have no idea where to start and not sure i would even find the problem as i know nothing about boat motors. Think it's time to give up and spend some cash on getting someone to do it, probably an easy job for someone that knows what there doing but that someone isn't me. Thanks for your help and time guys and wanna say this is a great site.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I think i have narrowed it down....... When the shift shaft is disconnected (via the two nuts that join the shaft ) I can move the gears from frd, ntl, rve by hand in the lower unit so i am assuming that the lower unit and gear box are ok. The shift lever moves fine and changes ok the motor housing part, can't follow it to far as it goes of into the mid leg ( not sure what its called but the part of the leg between the motor and what the lower unit bolts to ). I can move the top half of the shift shaft by hand at the point where the two shafts connect, i can pull it down to get rve, and up a little for ntl, and up a little more for frd but once it's gets into frd it wont shift back into rve with the shift lever, it moves a little towards ntl but that's as far as it gets ( the lever part moves fine- not sticking) but i can move it back by hand (via the bottom of the shaft ) so i am assuming the problem is some where between where the lever shift goes into the mid leg and when the top half of the shift shaft ends. I have looked at taking of the mid leg but it seems like a lot of work and have no idea where to start and not sure i would even find the problem as i know nothing about boat motors. Think it's time to give up and spend some cash on getting someone to do it, probably an easy job for someone that knows what there doing but that someone isn't me. Thanks for your help and time guys and wanna say this is a great site.

Can you [B]post the year, HP and model #[/B] so we can look at a parts fisch? Its available here on the forum. The parts picture will show what's where, etc and can be very helpful...

[$oad1970]

All i can find is a label saying..... Yamaha 61TK, 30HMH, below the 30 it has an L and 1037670 whith an H below the last 0

[Sequoiha]

that model number or serial number does not come up in my US parts catalog, is this possibly an oversease model..

[TownsendsFJR1300]

that model number or serial number does not come up in my US parts catalog, is this possibly an oversease model..

Where are you located $road1970? In the US or ? There's not much, if any detail about you.

Also, is it a 4 stroke or two stroke? It might help figure out what exact engine it is

Can you snap a real close (and clear) picture of that plate and upload it? While the camera is out, maybe a pic of the powerhead and lower unit, again to help identify the engine?

[$oad1970]

I'm in Australia and the motor is made in Japan so it wont be in any US cataloge, it's a Yamaha 2 stroke 30HMH tiller outboard. Not sure what pics you want so hope these help......if you need more just let me know.
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[TownsendsFJR1300]

I'm in Australia and the motor is made in Japan so it wont be in any US cataloge, it's a Yamaha 2 stroke 30HMH tiller outboard. Not sure what pics you want so hope these help......if you need more just let me know.
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Thanks... That engine isn't listed here on this forum, (for the US models, that engine was never sent here so no parts looks up) no 30 HP 2 strokes. This link:

2006 and Later 2-stroke Rigging Yamaha Outboard TILLER HANDLE FITTING KIT 50 Diagram and Parts

for a 50 HP shows, as does your pictures, shows your tiller shifter throttle works by cables. Again looking at your pictures, on the starboard side, shows two cables, ones for the throttle the other the shifter. Where the cables connect(the black piece that rotates) directly below that is at least one adjuster.

Gently shift the engine (engine off) forward and back and watch the cable. The first cable to move is the shifter.

Once fully in reverse (shifted with the cable only), see if you can MANUALLY PULL THE SHIFTER BACK FARTHER..

**If it does move farther, the problem maybe a stretched control (shifter cable). Pay attention to the linkages as well. You may have to adjust one linkage just a tad so it pushes(or pulls) the shifter a little farther towards the reverse position.

Note: with the shifter cable disconnected, manually shift the engine to neutral. On the above mentioned shifter/throttle plate there's usually marks that should be lined up with neutral being the "center, start" point. Adjust cable linkages to slip easily over the pins so everything is dead on. The cables should be adjusted to have very llittle play (not taught like a guitar spring). **The threaded end with a nut on each side of the threaded rod IS the cable adjuster. Obviously, adjust the outer cable farther away to tighten up the slack of the inner, moving cable..

DO NOT ADJUST any connectors (threaded rods with lock nuts) leading up to the spark advance, carb throttle control, etc. Concentrate on making sure its in neutral and adjust the SHIFTER CABLE as needed.

If that doesn't work, can you post a closer pic of the shifter cables, the plastic shifter and lower linkages...

Good luck..

[$oad1970]

As i said before I don't know much about boat motors. The two cables both go to the tiller arm and none to the shifter. Close up pics 1 & 2. The adjuster below where the cables join the black rotating part does not attach to the shift lever it joins to part A in pic 3 (named part A because i don't know what it is or what it does ). Where the shift lever parts enter the housing moves fine as in pic 4.


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[$oad1970]

The only cable that hooks up to the shift lever parts is the one in pic 5 part A and only goes to pic 5 part B which as far as i can tell lets you only pull start the motor in ntl. Pic 6 where the shift shaft joins, as i have said before the lower half moves fine but the upper half doesnt want to get out of fwd, it will if done by hand.

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