1981 40 Hp Merc , NO reverse... HELP

[Jwiegs]

I have a 81, 40 HP Merc outboard, It has a OMC remote steering. The Prop spins while in netural and in foward, If I shift into reverse, it still spins the prop foward. Not sure where to start!! HELP!
Thanks in advance
Joe

 

[Laddies]

Re: 1981 40 Hp Merc , NO reverse... HELP

Some OMC controls don't have enough travel to shioft Merc engines, that being said remove the cowl and make sure the cables are moving the engine is pulled into fwd and pushed into rev so first try to push back on the cable with a screwdiver or rod, almost any thing that will reach works fine and see if it will get rev that way if not then remove the shift cable and try shift the engine manually see if that works

 

[Jwiegs]

Re: 1981 40 Hp Merc , NO reverse... HELP

I took the cables off and tried ro shift the motor into reverse by hand, still nothing. It stay in foward the whole time. Where should I go from here?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1981 40 Hp Merc , NO reverse... HELP

Have you had the waterpump replaced recently? Has it ever worked properly for you? More often than not, when a Merc unit is stuck in forward, it means the lower and upper shift rods are misaligned. Merc units are spring loaded into forward as a fail-safe, so if the unit was serviced and then reassembled to the motor improperly, you will get the problem you describe...
- Scott

 

[davebad22]

Re: 1981 40 Hp Merc , NO reverse... HELP

I have a 1982 40hp and just dropped the gear housing to replace the impeller. I agree with Chinewalker, sounds like lower shift shaft is not aligned properly.
I dropped my gear housing back down, changed the alignment and slid the housing back up. I then spun the motor by hand while it was in Forward, Reverse and Neutral to test the alignment before fully bolting it all back together.

Good Luck - Dave