Keeps running again.

[Werdsdrew]

So I put the boat in today for some tarpon hunting. I haven't been on the water in probably two months. I had an odd occurance today. While motoring out in a no wake zone I noticed slight oscillation in the rpms. When I tried to take it out of gear to pause for a cast net throw it wouldn't come out of gear. With much force I was able to put it in neutral but the rpms shot up to 1800. I turned off the motor with the key. I was able after a couple attempts to get the binnacle shifting correctly while the motor was off. It ran fine the rest of the day. I get it back to clean it up at the house and I noticed the shifting is difficult again, now especially in reverse. I took the cowling off and didn't see anything out of the ordinary with the linkage. Where should I start my search? Thanks in advance

Drew

Key West 1760 Stealth
F115TRLA

[99yam40]

Something fell into and binding up at linkage at motor is my guess

[bajakeith]

gear oil

First,,, You might drain and refill your gear oil... then throw in forew ard gear and spin the prop backwards..it should lock up in gear,,,then put in reverse and spin prop in a foreward direction and should lock up... in Neutral should spin with no noise or issue...also push prop foreward and turn,,,anything not baby butt smooth is concern!!

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Is the idle still at 1,800 RPMs?


To eliminate the shifter and cables as possible issues, disconnect both at the engine.

Have a helper shift while you check for correct and full movement of the cable ends..

BTW, while you have the cables off, make sure the remote is in neutral and the engine is in neutral. (there should be a mark showing where the alignment should be).

The cable ends should slip easily over the engine "pins".

[Werdsdrew]

Motor is idling normally now

Ok so after my Wheaties I disconnected the linkage from the shift rod I was able to duplicate what I think happened on the water yesterday. From neutral I had difficulty shifting into forward and reverse without spinning the prop first. After I spun the prop clockwise it would lock in forward. Counter clockwise it would lock in reverse. Only when I spun the prop would the shift lever travel all the way inside the shift bracket. Thoughts?

[99yam40]

Prop shaft or the drive shaft needs to be turning when shifting into a gear to get the clutch dogs to line up to the ones on the gears, but never heard of a problem coming out of gear.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

What was the outcome of the cables, were they lined up, cable movement ok?

Re shifting with the engine off, what your experiencing is normal..If the gears aren't "lined up" static, moving the prop allows them to slip fully into gear.

NEVER force the shifter lever if it doesn't want to shift..

Depending on what you found above (with the cables), you can run the engine on muffs (with water), disconnect the SHIFTER CABLE, then by hand, move the lever in the engine into forward and reverse. It should shift fairly easily with full engaugement

If its super stiff or you can't shift it, you have issues in the LU.. Draining the LU oil may show some shiney, (metal particles-not good)...

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Re-reading your first post, you mentioned back at the house the shifter "difficult".

Was the engine running or if not, someone slowly turning the prop??

[99yam40]

Was the only time it was difficult to shift out of gear while in the water and motor running?

Shifting with out motor running can bend parts in the lower unit.
I replaced the shift shaft and pin through clutch dog & prop shaft because they were bent on a C60 not long ago.
I never thought there could be enough pressure put on these parts with the remote control , but it is possible.

I would be looking for a loose screw or something that dropped into and is binding linkage.

[Werdsdrew]

So I have ruled out the cables. I took both the throttle and shift cables off and moved the binnacle. It's fully functional regarding both aspects with no hesitation or snags. Today with the shift cable off I was able to engage forward and reverse. It was sometimes difficult to do so however without turning the prop. The cables were all aligned properly. I have my tech coming out to see me tomorrow and we're going to go through it thoroughly. I'll report back when I have a diagnosis. One thing that struck me that y'all said was you never want to force the shifter. I have a very precocious 6 year old that likes to play pirate on my flats boat as it's kept in the garage. They're times when the shifter is definitely moved from neutral into forward or reverse. I am hoping that's not the cause

[zenoahphobic]

My bet is on your 6 year old.
Whenever anything went wrong with my dad's stuff it was always us kids at fault!

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Just curious, did you try shifting the engine, WHILE IT WAS RUNNING (on muffs), by HAND with the shifter cable disconnected?

And I agree, unfortunately, if the shifter dogs weren't lined up and the shifter forced, it may have bent some internal linkages...

Well, at least you got half of the issue ruled out.

If he end up pulling the LU apart, you might consider re-sealing, new WP, etc. That'd be the time to do it.

Good luck..

[Werdsdrew]

I haven't tried to shift it while running in the muffs yet. My tech and I are going to do that later today. I was able to shift it with the cables off but only when moving the prop slightly forward or reverse. I hope to have answer later today.

[99yam40]

You still have not verified that you had a problem coming out of gear in more than one time according to what you have posted so far.
Are you sure there is a problem going into and coming out of gear?
or did you make a mistake in your original post?

[Werdsdrew]

99yam, You were right all along. To answer your last question, as I wasn't very clear in my post, I only had the initial trouble pulling it out of gear. You were correct with the regards to something fell in the path of the linkage. I couldn't initially see it the way the motor was positioned. Today the boat positioned the opposite direction when we were working on it. I noticed even before the tech arrived that a 20mm bolt from the fly wheel cover was in the way of the shift rod. We removed the bolt and water tested with no problems. I've got a picture of where the bolt was but I'm not sure how to attach. Thanks for all the help !