tohatsu m60a wont go forward

[temple1975]

Got boat in water at ramp. After letting engine idle nicely for a few minutes the boat would not go into forward. I could get it into reverse. I verfied that the choak was down,then reversed back to the ramp. Anyway I get home and put it in the barrel. I notice that the out most shift linkage shaft plastic piece (not sure of the name) is broken. This is one of the two pieces that push the shift shaft up and down. I am wishfully thinking that the broken plastic piece is allowing the shaft to move side to side instead of up and down. But more that likely the piece was broken because of the force of the shaft pushing the rod down on the shift shaft, and the shift shaft would not budge thus breaking the plastic piece. My question is how do I go about torubleshooting the issue. I do not have a manual nor can I seem to find one. Is the lower unit easy to pull and inspect the gears ???

Thanks in advance

Brian

 

[temple1975]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Ok. I have troubleshot it down to the fact that the shift shaft will go down (reverse) and up to neutral but not up to forward. I tried with a bar to ease the shaft up to forward (with the control in forward) but it will not budge. I guess I need to drop the lower unit and take a look?

 

[gcboat]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Yup, sounds like a plan to me. Every once in awhile that rolled pin will work its way loose and jam on the interior of the casing - I believe. Anyway it would be just a wonderful time to change out your impeller since you're there.

 

[pvanv]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Also... the driveshaft needs to be turning to go into gear...

 

[temple1975]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Well I dropped the lower unit and got the shaft to come up. As you turn the driveshaft the prop would turn but as soon a you applied any pressure to the prop ie. put your finger on it the prop would stop spinning. If I repeated the same process for reverse there was no issue. Apprently there are no parts for these for a rebuild so I am looking for a used lower unit and / or will repower all together.

 

[pvanv]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

You may have a bad clutch dog or gear. Disassemble it to find out. Parts are rare; You may need to buy another whole used LU.

 

[temple1975]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Thanks for the reply. I removed the two bolts on by the prop and removed that assembly. The gears look great. Anyway the shift shaft still will not move. If I remove the drive shaft will I be able to get to the lower part of the shift shaft ? If I get to the shift shaft can I get this thing back together without a dealer involvement. Again the propeller shaft and all the gears around it look perfect. Also there did not seems to be any noticeable water in the gear oil.

Thanks for the help !

 

[temple1975]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Is it possible that the clutch cam is bad ?

 

[pvanv]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Once the shift rod bushing is out of the LU the rod and cam should come out. A bad cam is rare, but possible. Could even be a dropped pushrod that operates the shift dog between gears (F and R).

Yes, it can be reassembled without special dealer involvement.

 

[temple1975]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Once I removed this bushing (see picture) I still could not remove the shaft. It is definitely stuck or I am doing something wrong. If you remove the prop shaft via those two bolts, you see the bottom of the drive shaft which is running on a large gear. What is on the other side of the gear because that's where I believe the problem lives ?

 

[pvanv]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Yes, something is amiss. A stiff tug should get the shift rod up and out. You may have a roll pin for the shift cam that has backed out a hair or something like that.

The driveshaft turns the pinion gear (small gear) at the top of the housing, which in turn operates both F and R gears (large gears) simultaneously. The F and R gears are counter-rotating, and turn all the time. The shift rod/cam operates the push rod (in the center of the prop shaft), which allows the dog to jump from F to N to R.

I would extract the driveshaft to see what is going on.

Failing that, a dealer should be able to help you out.

 

[temple1975]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Ok. Thank you. The way you explained the process makes sense.

 

[temple1975]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

So in the attached picture

1. Is the forward gear
2. Is the clutch Dog
3. Is the reverse gear

Thanks !!!

 

[temple1975]

Re: tohatsu m60a wont go forward

Update. I found that the gear that hangs off the drive shaft has some damage. Metal shavings from the gear settled in the shaft cavity and caused the cam to bind. I cleaned out all the shavings and smoothed the cam until it now shifts into forward. Hopefully I can replace that gear only since the parts are so hard to come by. If not I have taken the boat on multiple trips with the gear (as it is now) so if it goes into gear it is worith the risk. Anyway I will shorten the length of my trips, always carry my trolling motor, and get a sea tow subscription !!!