Reverse not engaging straight away

[cozza]

Hi all
I've had this problem with 2 of my outdrive so far. I have just replaced a 290 SP with a reconditioned 290 DP outdrive and the same problem is accruing. When I select reverse it takes a few seconds to engage. The forward gear selects right away. The Recondition outdrive was rebuilt by a Volvo mechanic.
Does anyone know on what I can check please.

 

[Scott Danforth]

check your shift cable adjustment. if the boat is slipped, your going to get wet, as this adjustment is under the shift cover on the drive

 

[cozza]

Thanks Scott
How would I know if the adjustment on the shift cable isn't right

 

[Scott Danforth]

you have already indicated something isnt right. pull cotter pin, dis-engage pin from linkage, make sure boat controls in neutral. pin should line up with linkage without forcing.

you could have a bad cable. they only last about 15 years, and your drives are coming up on 30 years old.

 

[cozza]

Yeah you could be right on the money with the cable not adjusted right as I set up to the same as the other drive I had on. It's a brand new cable as well so it's not the cable.
Looks like it's swim time for me

 

[Scott Danforth]

dont feel bad, Mine was out of adjustment as well when I put the drive back on. turns out my cable is going bad. outer sheath is starting to swell

 

[cozza]

Cheers for the help Scott

 

[jerryjerry05]

Also check the oil.
​Is it the right weight?
Some think that you can use 90wt.
When it should be 30???
It slows down the mechanism??

 

[Fishermark]

Also check the oil.
​Is it the right weight?
Some think that you can use 90wt.
When it should be 30???
It slows down the mechanism??

That's something that I find curious. I too have heard that. Some even say it can cause damage.

And yes, for the 290 outdrives (other than the DP), they recommend 10W30 or 10W40 weight engine oil:

But for the SP drives, for which I can find no basic difference between the drives internally, they recommend thicker gear oil:

[

 

[Scott Danforth]

OP has a slipped boat, so to check oil he either needs to pull the boat, or check while on plane.... dont recommend the later.

 

[bruceb58]

Also check the oil.
​Is it the right weight?
Some think that you can use 90wt.
When it should be 30???
It slows down the mechanism??

Just so you know 40W engine oil is about the same viscosity as 90W gear oil.

 

[bruceb58]

That's something that I find curious. I too have heard that. Some even say it can cause damage.

What is the "it" that can cause damage?

 

[footbrake]

Yes cozza, the shift cable is out of adjustment for sure

 

[jerryjerry05]

I never heard about damage just slowing things down.

 

[Fishermark]

What is the "it" that can cause damage?

"It" being gear oil instead of engine oil. Not saying I believe it will cause a problem... just saying that I have heard some say that it can. Even the late great Don S mentioned the danger in this post. Something about the slinger pump can shear.

 

[bruceb58]

"It" being gear oil instead of engine oil. Not saying I believe it will cause a problem... just saying that I have heard some say that it can. Even the late great Don S mentioned the danger in this post. Something about the slinger pump can shear.

I wonder if DonS realized that 30W engine oil is practically the same viscosity as 90W gear oil.

 

[cozza]

Hi all the oil that was put in by a Volvo expert was 75w90 synthetic blend. I'm pretty sure by the some of the post is that my shift cable is set wrong as I set up as the same as the Single prop drive that was doing the same thing and that had 15w40 in that drive. Bit of a pain as I just got it slipped back in the water. Looks like I'm swimming, don't feel like paying for another lift just to adjust the cable

 

[bruceb58]

Hopefully, he didn't use a gear oil with a Limited Slip additive in it. That's one of the reasons I don't use the Mobil 1 gear oil that you find in the auto parts stores these days. It has the limited slip additive in it. I only use the Volvo GL5 gear oil.

 

[cozza]

Yeah Bruceb58 it was the Volvo GL5 gear oil

 

[bruceb58]

Yeah Bruceb58 it was the Volvo GL5 gear oil

You said blend which made me question it. The Volvo 75w-90 gear oil is full synthetic. They also have gear oil that is non-synthetic. It is still GL5.

Supposedly, older drives with bronze cone clutches are supposed to use the non-syn gear oil.