1965 mercury 650 only clicks in reverse

[mrfixitman40]

i know the first step is to get the manual but just bought a 1965 mercury 650 we installed it on the boat put the muffs on it and just engaged the prop to make sure it was ok everything seemed fine put it in the lake yesterday and no reverse just clicked checked the cable it was moving full is there an adjustment in the lower that could have got moved or is there something that is easy to check
?#2 when going through the lake it runs up about half way throttle then a couple minutes later it will rev the rest of the way with #2 and #4 cylinder not contributing equally to the #1 and #3 cylinders which has me thinking a spark issue any input would be greatly appreciated
John

 

[Laddies]

Re: 1965 mercury 650 only clicks in reverse

There is no adjustment in the unit, so if the shift connection is moving to the end of the slot you have a bad clutch dog or a twisted shift shaft usually they twist the upper shift shaft by shifting into rev without the engine running and then keep on using the engine till the lower unit get rev anymore then sell it. The ign problem is a bad cap and probably rotor if it is tan or white take it off and wash it with hot water and dish soap rinse it well let it dry and it should be alright, if it's red or green replace it they were never any good when new. Try to find a donor engine as a new cap requires deep pockets

 

[mrfixitman40]

Re: 1965 mercury 650 only clicks in reverse

thank you laddies the cap is white so i will try the dish soap and hope it works out ok and the reverse sounds like it may be quite expensive fix where is the best place to find old merc parts

 

[Laddies]

Re: 1965 mercury 650 only clicks in reverse

I always start with dealers in the surrounding area as it saves freight most have older engines stored for parts if not ck the INTERNET

 

[mrfixitman40]

Re: 1965 mercury 650 only clicks in reverse

is there some kind of a lock out that won't let it engage if the lock is not engaged for the tilt cause noticed last night there is something missing from the tilt that it will not lock in place then there is a rod that goes into the lower unit

 

[mrfixitman40]

Re: 1965 mercury 650 only clicks in reverse

upon further inspection last night i noticed a crack in the cap getting a new one today . as for the shift linkage should the cam under the carb lift when going into reverse . I am still awaiting the manual and am hoping it can go out this weekend if i can figure the reverse out and its nothing major . thank you in advance

 

[Laddies]

Re: 1965 mercury 650 only clicks in reverse

On the lower unit there should be a cam that pushes the rod up and engages the rev lock pawls then shifting, someone revoved it probably try to get rev to work. If the upper shift shaft is raising up when shifting into rev and the unit shifts alright when off the engine then the shaft is twisted

 

[mrfixitman40]

Re: 1965 mercury 650 only clicks in reverse

thank you for the info Laddies i greatly appreciate your time will it hurt the forward gears to run it BTW it raises everytime i try to engage it manually at the slide when running and when not so i guess i will have to pull the lower unit

 

[Laddies]

Re: 1965 mercury 650 only clicks in reverse

No that should not hurt forward gear to do that. I think when you get your mannual and drop the unit your going to find someone has taken it apart and not gotten all the partsin the right place, keep your finger crossed they didn't hurt any thing major