1995 90HP Evinrude stuck shifter

Boatnsteve

Cadet
Joined
Jul 17, 2011
Messages
20
Hello!

As the subject line says, I have a 1995 90HP that is misbehaving. Without much in the way of warning it's very difficult to consistently get into gear. Sometimes it goes fine, sometimes it needs way too much bouncing of the lever to engage. There's definite physical resistance, sometimes forward sometimes reverse, sometimes both. Once engaged it works as it should, no proble.

I took apart the control arm (it's the single arm with push button to disengage for throttle idle) and disconnected the linkages from the engine. I found that the shifter works smooth, the cables respond as they should. Which seems to me to indicate the problem is in the motor itself. I tried pushing the shift linkage arm in the motor by hand and it didn't want to move easily. Not sure if that is normal or not.

Because I ruled out the shifter and cables as sources of problems, I put it back together and for a couple of times it worked flawlessly. I figured that maybe the shift cable was kinked somewhere and I released the tension without knowing it. But then the bad behavior started again.

Any thoughts?

Steve
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
28,097
Have you checked the quality of the gear oil in the gearcase? If it is low or full of water, it will make shifting difficult.
 

racerone

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
38,435
Motor must be running or prop must be turned in order to get smooth consistent .shifting
 

Boatnsteve

Cadet
Joined
Jul 17, 2011
Messages
20
Thanks for the replies. No, I haven't checked the oil levels in the case. This is a freshwater engine and it doesn't get that much use so I don't routinely check on it. I had it overhauled two summers ago so it's not the first thing I'd suspect. I will take a look.

I forgot to mention that motor is running during the problem times. It is possible that at some point it was shifted when the motor wasn't running, but I don't know why that would be a problem after many shifts later while it is running.

Steve
 
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