How much damage did I do?

[Dewaynep]

OK, I haven't been on Iboats in a while because the boat/motor I have has been great, until yesterday. I was back in some shallow water fishing with my kids. When we went to leave I think the prop was sitting on top of a log (Engine is a 1975 Johnson 85HP model: 85ESL75E Serial J4311786). When I shifted into forward the engine immediately stopped running. I paddled out into deeper water, started the engine and it wouldn't go into forward gear (you could hear the gears grinding). This has a single control for direction and throttle. I put it into reverse and reverse worked fine, then went back to forward and it now engaged. It was about 2 miles back to the dock and it worked fine. When we got close to the dock, I put it in neutral, then reverse. Reverse was fine, but when I went to put it back in forward it was just grinding the gears. If I went to about half throttle it would engage, so I got us back to the dock and pulled her out of the water.
When we got the boat home I had my son switch gears while I played with the prop. Reverse is definitely working fine. I could get forward to engage if I put a little extra pressure on the shift linkage to push the shift rod down a little further. I tried adjusting the cable to push the rod further down, but then in neutral reverse was engaging slightly (I could feel it by turning the prop by hand.
So, how much damage did I do and is it going to cost me a small fortune? I looked at the IPL for the gearcase and I hope it 's not the forwrd gear, they're more expensive than what I paid for the whole boat and motor. I've never had a gearcase apart, how difficult is this one to take apart and put back together? Thanks.

 

[daselbee]

Re: How much damage did I do?

I don't think you did any damage at all.

What you are hearing is the clutch dog "grinding", not engaging fully. The gears are not grinding.

I think all of your problem is in shift rod adjustment, and cable adjustment.
Disconnect the shift cable from the engine so you can manually shift without the cable interfering with the shift travel.

Run it, shifting manually and see what you find. Probably play in the shift cable.

If not the cable, the clutch dog in the gearcase might have wear and will not engage fully. Check the LU oil for metal shavings.
If so, the LU will have to be torn down and inspected for wear.

I hope you get lucky and find cable issues.

 

[Dewaynep]

Re: How much damage did I do?

Thanks Daselbee. I will be dropping the LU tonight. As I looked at the ipl more I think it has something to do with the clutch dog. This thing was running/shifting fine for the past year. I'm going to check the shift rod height after I drop the LU. Before I drop the LU I will drain the oil and see what is in there. I know last year when I changed the oil it was clean.
I also noticed that when it was in forward gear I was able to spin the prop counterclockwise with a slight clicking, but could not turn it clockwise (like the dog was engeging in one direction, but not the other. In reverse, the prop couldn't be turned in either direction (of course, the prop does turn a small amount until the dogs contact the gear). Thanks.

 

[Dewaynep]

Re: How much damage did I do?

Well, I ripped the LU apart tonight and didn't really see much. There was one small sliver of metal on the drain plug, the oil looked good, no water. I guess that's good news? I am going to change the clutch dog since the reverse side is worn a little. The forward side looks fine, just slight rounding of the leading edges. I guess I have to check the shifter settings again and see if I can get it to engage forward fully. I will be replacing the linkage bushings too just in case there is too much slop in them.
I do have a question about the "hydraulic assist solenoid" on the shift linkage. How exactly does it work? I have the seloc manual and it doesn't explain the operation or how to test it. Is it possible the solenoid isn't working? Actually, I don't really see what it does, as the shift linkage is a straight shot through the "solenoid".