1962 merc 1000 no reverse

[portlandmercman]

I have a 1962 Merc 1000 Ser# 1501076. I got it running good. the problem is, it wont go into reverse. it will go forward and in neutral just fine. i brought it to a shop and they said it was fine. took it home. fired it up. it worked. now it doesn't anymore. is something worn inside? i just drained the lube and it was real stinky and milky. i found a crack in the case. going to JB weld it. so what should i do. i have been looking all over and that lower unit seems rare.

 

[corm]

Re: 1962 merc 1000 no reverse

Hi,
With the engine shut off.
Disconnect the shift cable and shift it into reverse by hand. You may have to spin the prop while doing this to align the clutch dog and gear.
Will it go into reverse? Yes se A No see B.
A,
If so then shift your control into reverse and give it some fuel. (still shut off)
Now check and see if the cable will fit back on the engine connectors.
If not adjust the barrel so that it will go on. Then put it on. You will ned to have a tiny bit of pressure when it goes in. Like it was over adjusted for reverse. Not so that it goes in hard but just snug. You will notice the cable end play. That is what you are taking out out the system by doing this.
Now shift the control just into neutral. Do not go past neutral when doing this.
If you did shift it back into rev and then back to neutral. Now go back the engine and spin the prop. I hope you do not hear any clicking. If you do move the control cable by hand a little one way or the other to see if it gets worse or quits. You may have to tweak the barrel adjustment a tiny bit and re check your reverse engagement. Forward usually works fine but check it to make sure.
B,
If it did not go into reverse then you have another problem. Tip up the engine and put it on the tilt lock. Now try it. If it did not go into reverse then your reverse lock cam needs some lube on it or your reverse lack hooks are bent. Also you shift shaft could be twisted. They are NLA so I hope that is not the problem. I guess the spanner nut that holds in the propshaft could be backing out too. Not as common but can happen. You would have to remove the prop to check this out.

I just re read your post. Where is the crack? Maybe all this is moot.

 

[portlandmercman]

Re: 1962 merc 1000 no reverse

I am going over today to check it out. I do think that it is probably the reverse hooks. that would explain why it worked, and after i tilted the engine, it didn't work. the leak is on the left side. it sanded it down and revealed a weld that is maybe 2 inches long vertical on the barreled part of the unit. the leak seems to be coming through the edge of this weld. i am pretty sure i can seal it up with some JB Weld. there also seems to be another crack on the same side towards the prop. it is 2 or 3 inches horizontal. i will sand that down and give it a good coat of JB Weld as well. I will let you know what happens.

Oh, and what does "moot" mean?

 

[corm]

Re: 1962 merc 1000 no reverse

Hi,

Moot would be like irrelevant, a localism or age thing I guess.
So your unit had some water in it and it froze and cracked.
The epoxy can repair that. However it is hard to get clean metal for it to adhere to. Clean it good with something like breakcleen or acetone to get the oil off and sand it to clean metal. Do not re-clean the metal as you will contaminate the surface again. The Al needs to be sanded and the epoxy applied asap because AL oxidizes fast and you will not get a good bond.
You may have to drain the LU to stop the oil from oozing out while patching.
Welding is a better fix when you have some down time with the boat.