reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

[ryanr623]

I bought a boat from a guy, and it has a 1978? johnson seahorse 70hp engine. The motor started up and ran fine. He even showed me that is has exactly 130psi in all 3 cylinders. Well I get it out on the water to find out that reverse makes the boat go forward, and forward makes it go into reverse! Also when I put it into reverse to go forward, even with the throttle all the way down it only revs to around 2000rpm and goes about 5mph. Im assuming this has something to do with the cables being reversed correct? How do i fix this?
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[freddyray21]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

if it is electric shift which I am thinking it might be then there are wires crossed. If it's manual shift I can't envision the cable being on wrong.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

model # of motor. but i think you have a 1978 motor with a 1973-76, lower unit on it. they shifted differently.

 

[o/b tech]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

The hydro-mechanical gearcase does shift opposite to he mechanical shift from 1978. You either have to change the shift linkage on the powerhead or install a late model surface mount control box that has the abillity to set the shift to opperate "backwards", depending on witch hole that you attach the cable to.

 

[nuttyboater]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

Prop on backwards??

Hey it's a stupid suggestion but i will toss it out there cause i often wondered if its possible myself.

 

[Vic.S]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

Prop on backwards??

Even if it is possible to do it won't make any difference the prop looks the same from both sides.

 

[reeldutch]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

somebody might have put a counter rotating prop on?

when you put the trothle handle forward(reverse on your motor) does it run up to full rpm?

 

[nuttyboater]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

My prop definitely doesn't look the same from both ways. It has a defined curve to each blade so that the tips are curved towards the stern, like an old fashioned fan blade, if the prop would be put on backwards, i don't know if its even possible, it surely wouldn't move much water. It would probably just sit and churn away.

Anyway, had to ask!

 

[ezeke]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

I think that TD is correct, the gearcase is from the 1973-1976 era and you need to have the shift hardware that went with that drive or it will run backwards. Dhadley I think covered that in another thread if you want to search for it.

You can't very well run it backwards so you need to get the correct gearcase or the extra hardware. Personally, I would try to trade it for the correct one.

 

[ryanr623]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

somebody might have put a counter rotating prop on?

when you put the trothle handle forward(reverse on your motor) does it run up to full rpm?

Didnt check, but in reverse (forward) it only goes up to 2000 rpm. The model # is j4288606 and i believe now that it is a 1975. ANY IDEAS?

 

[ottertail]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

Post a picture of the prop so we can see if a counter rotation prop has been installed. It has happened before.

 

[ryanr623]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

dont have a pic of the prop ( it is docked) here is a pic of the engine if this helps

 

[ottertail]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

No help. need to see the direction of the blades. Or you can post the part number on the prop

 

[aitkenkingfish]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

Just ran into this same problem on my 65hp turns out they made some counter rotating 65 & 70 hp motors as my lower unit rebuilder said. unfortunatly the only way to verify if it is counter rotating is to pull the foot apart & check the berrings. If any one knows anouther way to verify rotation chime in.

 

[timdan94]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

Just ran into this same problem on my 65hp turns out they made some counter rotating 65 & 70 hp motors as my lower unit rebuilder said. unfortunatly the only way to verify if it is counter rotating is to pull the foot apart & check the berrings. If any one knows anouther way to verify rotation chime in.

Couldn't you put the motor in forward gear, drop the lower unit and turn the drive shaft in the same direction that the engined turns it and see what way the prop turns?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

Got news for you... your motor is NOT a 1978. The cowling might be, but the rest of the motor is not. The lower motor mounts are for 1977 & prior, and the color dates it as 1976 or prior. If it is not electric shift, then it is a 1973 to 1976 model, 65 or 70 horsepower. If that is the case, then you may have a NEWER lower unit on the OLDER motor, which would also explain your backwards shifting problem.

You do NOT have a counter rotating lower unit on there. They did not offer counter rotating 3-cylinder models. The correct propeller will rotate clockwise.

 

[aitkenkingfish]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

Ive been told the linkage could be reversed in the foot & ive also been told the gear could be put in backwards. so im not certain. I can tell you that if I put the motor in forward it was spinning the prop backwards. so I grabed a spare lower unit off of a 72 70 hp put it on put the motor in forward & it pushes the boat forward. which told me it was in the lower unit. The million dollar question " is it reverse rotation or sombodys screwup"?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

There is no "reverse rotation". There is no way to reverse the rotation by putting the gear in backwards or changing any linkage in the foot.

There are two - and only two - lower unit styles that will bolt up to that motor. They shift in opposite directions - one is UP for forward, the other is DOWN - but both units spin the same direction (clockwise for forward). As such, the upper shift linkage on the motor itself is different depending on which unit it has. Given that this motor has a cowling of a different year, it may be an amalgamation of years built up into a motor.

Shoot... just noticed that the original thread is over a year old...

 

[noelm]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

chinewalker is on the money, take note of what he said rather than counter with "I was told"

 

[Nautiglass]

Re: reverse is forward, forward is reverse?

There is no "reverse rotation". There is no way to reverse the rotation by putting the gear in backwards or changing any linkage in the foot.

There are two - and only two - lower unit styles that will bolt up to that motor. They shift in opposite directions - one is UP for forward, the other is DOWN - but both units spin the same direction (clockwise for forward). As such, the upper shift linkage on the motor itself is different depending on which unit it has. Given that this motor has a cowling of a different year, it may be an amalgamation of years built up into a motor.

Shoot... just noticed that the original thread is over a year old...

Hi, I have this same problem with my 70hp (70EL76D) after I had the lower leg rebuilt, could someone walk me through the steps to replace the shift linkage with one that will suit the new leg?

Thanks Chris