Mercuty 9.8 - Reverse gear

[rruberto]

Hello All, I noticed that my outboard stays in forward gear if i place the switching gear in reverse/neutral or forward.

If I place the gear in neutral, the engine will go forward, but not to a high speed (1/3 of the normal speed).

If I place the gear in reverse, the boat will go forward, but I did not test for speed.

Does enyone know what is going on?

My second question is in respect to the short shaft that is placed on the lower unit's leg which is located beside the water pump. What is the function of this shorter shaft? That shorter shaft is a pain in the neck to align every time I inspect the waterpump.

Thank you All,

Ralph

 

[Laddies]

Re: Mercuty 9.8 - Reverse gear

Ralph, that the shift shaft and it is not lined up you need to drop the unit turn the shaft till you get rev. gear and place the shift lever in rev. and reinstall the unit.

 

[rruberto]

Re: Mercury 9.8 - Reverse gear

Re: Mercury 9.8 - Reverse gear

Laddies, thanks again! You helped me a few months ago to fix the water flow from the engine's tell-tale.

I have one more problem.... when I take down the lower unit, the water pump tube fits ok, but there is a small rod with spines (not the main shaft) that is near the waterpump intake and it drives me nuts everytime I have to place the rod back in to place... there is a tube with spines, located in the outboard's leg, and I have to place the rod from the lower unit in this tube (btw, the tube keeps on moving and it drives me crazy to align the rod with the tube).. you might be laughing your head off... the rod.. the tube...

Thanks for your help,

 

[rruberto]

Re: Mercuty 9.8 - Reverse gear

I forgot to add the following to my reply...What is the function of the smaller rod located on the lower unit (not the mail shaft).

Thanks,

Ralph

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Mercuty 9.8 - Reverse gear

Ruberto,
Laddies already told you.....The smaller shaft IS the shift shaft. It must be positioned correctly in order for the motor to shift correctly. There's only three things sticking up from the lower unit....A drive shaft (the large one), a water tube from the water pump, and the shift shaft (splined also). If you turn the shift shaft(it only moves a LITTLE bit) and the drive shaft at once, you can figure out where the notch in the shift shaft splines should be for reverse by watching movement of the prop--- put your motor shift lever in reverse as well, line it up and put it back together. It should shift correctly then.
Hope you understood this, as I'm sometimes not specific about important details.
JBJ

 

[rruberto]

Re: Mercury 9.8 - Reverse gear

Re: Mercury 9.8 - Reverse gear

JBJ, thanks for your input. You explained the process perfectly.

Laddies, suggested that I should place the gear in to reverse while re-assembling the lower unit, while you suggested to place the gear in to neutral... will there be a difference....

Thanks for your time,

Ralph

 

[rruberto]

Re: Mercuty 9.8 - Reverse gear

JBJ.... I think I'm losing IT!!!

You also said to place the gear in reverse while re-assembling it.....

Thanks guys!

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Mercuty 9.8 - Reverse gear

Ha Ha Ruberto!
You're not losing it, I just reread Laddies post after I types mine and edited it.Laddies is a mercury EXPERT and I suspect that the reason he said put it in reverse is because there is a mechanism that puts a little torque on the shift shaft to put it in reverse or forward, so it's easier to reassemble it in reverse gear than neutral. The shifter will tend to rotate out of neutral when you assemble the lower unit to the midsection and the shifter/ shift shaft won't be synchronized. Sorry about that, I forgot. If Laddies says it though, it's "gospel".
JBJ