1989 5.0 Mercruiser stalls when put in reverse

[frankthomas]

My 1989 Celebrity 182 se ran normally last year. But first time out this year, started up fine but when throttle moved to reverse, as soon as I advanced the throttle in reverse it stalled. I restarted several times and the same thing happened each time. I tested it on the driveway with muffs and same thing. Shift into forward, in gear, advance throttle and no problems. Put into neutral and idles fine. Shift to reverse, give a little gas and stall.

i am taking it into the shop this week but wondering what you all might think. Thanks

 

[Scott Danforth]

Check the stickies for adjusting your shift interupt switch. If you cant adjust it, you may need a new lower shift cable

 

[harringtondav]

The stud that the lower shift cable connects to should be in the bottom of the slot. If it's not, the cutout switch can kill the engine when shifting. Been there myself.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... My guess is yer lower shift cable got sticky over the winter, 'n yer gonna need to replace it,....

 

[kenny nunez]

Most of the time when reverse makes the engine stall the repair consist of removing the drive and cleaning the marine build up of salt and corrosion in the front cavity of when the shift slider is pulled for reverse the build up stops the movement and activates the interrupter switch. If that is the only time this happens the shift cable is still good. The shop will probably want to change the cable anyway and it is a good time to get it done. They can check the alinment and grease the universal joints.
Also a good time to replace the water pump impeller and drive oil change.