Motor comes out of water in reverse

[mer913]

It will idle in reverse but if I give it any gas the motor will come up out of water and crash back down when power is reduced. It is a 1981? 40hp serial # 5824455

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Welcome to iboats. <br /><br />Is the tilt pin missing? The tilt lock hooks that to hold the motor down in Neutral and Reverse. In Forward, it's always unlocked.

 

[mer913]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Where would pin be? Dealer said pin in motor was broke and it would cost about $400 to fix.

 

[JB]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Four Hundred bux!!!??? <br /><br />Take the broken pin to a hardware store. Probably a fews bux and a bit of filing, etc.

 

[mer913]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Thanks, but I don't know were pin is. Is it up inside the motor or is it near where the trim pin is?

 

[PuckHog]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

assuming you don't have power tilt and trim, the tilt pin is the 1/4" pin in the motor bracket which can be installed in a series of holes to adjust your engine tilt. There are some hooks which are supposed to grab the tilt pin in neutral and reverse, yet allow the motor to move in forward. If hooks are out of adjustment, the motor will try to climb in the boat every time you use reverse.

 

[mer913]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Thanks and now I know that the pin is there but the hook does not grab the pin. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Can I adjust the hook or is something else wrong? Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

[PuckHog]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

It's adjustable, but you'll need a manual to do it. If the adjustments don't work, it could be the plastic cam the actuator for the hooks rides on in the lower end may be worn out.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Inside the lower unit is a rod that moves(Up/down) which is attached to the claws when you shift. The dealer may have been talking about this rod. I recall on my old merc 65 that if the rod was not positioned correctly when reassembling the lower unit(Possibly After a water pump change, for example), it would actually work in the opposite direction and release the motor in reverse and lock it in forward. I don't know if this is the case in your situation, but you could check this by having someone move the shift lever from forward to reverse while you watch and see how or if the claws move. Sorry this is not very technical, but it's been awhile....

 

[mer913]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Thanks for the info. I can not move it by hand so I will try your way.

 

[mer913]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Had the wife move shift lever and a rod turns but the claws did not move. Does anybody know if I could LOCK the claws down and leave them down all the time? Would this hurt motor or boat?

 

[MercFan]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Don't fred. Because if you hit a rock under the water line while going forward, you want the engine to be able to lift up.<br /><br />Get a factory manual and follow the step by step instruction on how to adjust and trouble shoot that hooking device.

 

[Brian Ahern]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Esay fix Dont rev the engine so hard while reversing .Take it slow in reverse,My old Merc 25hp has a lever that can be shifted to lock while reversing ,But be warned you must remember to put it back when travelling forward cause if you hit something submerged at speed you will cause major damge to possibly both boat and motor.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

There were tilt lock pins on my small engines, and each had an engage lever and even if engaged, it would automatically (cam driven I guess) open in forward gear.<br /><br /> You Could have several problems....corrosion or return spring missing to name a couple. Shouldn't be that difficult to pull the cowl and look at things and start moving them and see what's not responding. Gonna bet you corrosion is your culprit; either in the engage lever, or the clamp that snags the tilt pin.....one of em is frozen. A real high quality penetrating oil (Kroil for one) and after a day's soaking gently start applying back and forth pressure. Heat works great, but I don't think you can use heat in this application...burn your paint off and other things to be damaged.<br /><br />My 2c,<br /><br />Mark

 

[PuckHog]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

rickdb1boat is right. If the cam which is on the gear selector rod is misaligned when the lower unit goes on, you can actually reverse the locking action and jeopardize your motor. The cam pushes the rod up and engages the claws in neutral and reverse. The original cams are plastic and subject to wearing out. Last Saturday, I replaced the cam for my '78 800 with a new factory cam which are now metal.

 

[mer913]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

PuckHog You are right the rod does not move up at all when shifter goes into reverse, however I can move the rod by hand when the motor is tilted up but it is very hard to move when the motor is down. I can however move the claws onto the pin by hand when motor is down. Sounds like I need to remove the lower end and see what is going on. Is this very hard to do or should I take to shop? Thanks!

 

[PuckHog]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

Removing and reinstalling the lower end isn't all that difficult if you have patience, an extra pair of hands (makes reassembly a lot easier) and most importantly a manual. There are a lot of little things to overlook if you don't read the manual carefully. For example, if the gear selector is in the wrong position, or the cam is on wrong, or your in the wrong gear, it'll go together, but the problem will persist.

 

[Motor Boater Bill]

Re: Motor comes out of water in reverse

My 1976 Merc 200 was not engaging and disengaging properly. Lubricating the moving parts fixed it. I like it when it's that easy. Look at where the "claws" pivot and see if you can squirt some WD-40 or PB Blaster in there.