Proper shift linkage adjustment 1972 18 hp Evinrude

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

Here is the back story. 4 years ago I rebuilt this lower unit for my mother-in-laws substitute pastor. So as you can imagine I want this one better than right. I also made it an electric start so he no longer had to pull start it.
All is well until 3 weeks ago, owner stated it would no long stay in gear, which by the way, was the same problem that brought him to me 4 years ago.
I like most of you think that it is the clutch dog. So I go into it with a new dog, noticing first off that one of the drain screws is missing its gasket, BIG nono, and NOT something I would miss. Just too anal about that. Also notice the pivot pin is not all the way in..

I am thinking someone got in here and did not know what they are doing..

I go totally thru this replace ALL the seals, clean it inside and out. Re-assemble and check for leaks…none. Put it on and it shifts fine.

Since that time, I have opened this case up 3 more times with the same problem, won’t stay in gear…Have re-sealed it and checked for leaks. So tonight I head to the lake for the 4th time… motor starts easily, so I "smartly shift into reverse, no issues, no jumping out of gear. "Smartly" shift into forward and take off… up to 3/4 throttle it is fine, so I figure we are good, and open it all the way up, does well for a couple of minutes, so I idle down easy, shift into reverse and give her some gas…so far so good right??? Nope When I go beck into forward, the dam thing starts popping out of forward, like nobody’s business…I have to literally hold the shift lever in forward to keep it in gear. The last time I was into this we found the upper part of the rod had somehow pulled out of the connector and made the shifting not right, so I pulled a good one from my 18 and replaced it with his and triple checked its holding of both upper and lower shift rods.

Now to my question, this has some type of adjuster to allow some leeway with the throw range of the linkage. I used my 10th edition manual to set this in the beginning but it does not matter where the adjustment is , just won’t stay in gear….

Please advise? Only option is to pull the power head and change out the upper shift rod… there is nothing else…that I can think of.

and for the first 3 years, 48 weeks it shifted just fine…

Thoughts???? Is there anything else that may mimic what appears to be jumping out of gear?

Thanks

Richard

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[fleetwin]

Well, there is the little adjustment on the shift lever that aligns the interlock lever with neutral. But, that will not increase the range of throw…
You should be able to see if there is slop in the linkage by pulling the shift rod connector cover, securing the shift rod with needle nose pliers or something else that will fit inside, then trying to rock the shift lever…If you find there is lost motion between the shift lever, and shift rod movement, you will need to track down the cause. Perhaps the shift lever is not tight on the pivot shaft, or maybe the internal bellcrank is messed up.
Is the gearcase achieving full forward gear engagement? Usually, you can feel drag on the dog/gear face when you attempt to push the shift lever past its static position in forward gear. Your sure this is a gearcase issue, correct? It is possible that the driveshaft/crankshaft splines are just about to give way. But, I’m guessing you can feel the thing jumping when you hold the shift lever in forward gear while it is misbehaving.
It is possible that the internal gearcase linkage is worn, such as the gearcase fork or aluminum clutch dog cradle….

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

OK, just checked for slop in the upper linkage… no slop detected….
When you say you can "feel" drag when pulling "hard" against to forward stop… I do not think it is going that far forward. I shift into forward, and hold it there, when rotating the prop within its range of "free" movement I feel no drag at all.. And finally when running on the water, when holding the shift lever in forward, it did not slip nor did I feel it slip, as soon as I let go of that lever, she "slipped"

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[frankr]

Man, are you Sure the dog and gear are good? It sure doesn’t sound like it. Ok, giving it the benefit of the doubt, how about a bent shifter fork in the lower unit?

[fleetwin]

quote Richard A. White:

OK, just checked for slop in the upper linkage… no slop detected….
When you say you can "feel" drag when pulling "hard" against to forward stop… I do not think it is going that far forward. I shift into forward, and hold it there, when rotating the prop within its range of "free" movement I feel no drag at all.. And finally when running on the water, when holding the shift lever in forward, it did not slip nor did I feel it slip, as soon as I let go of that lever, she "slipped"

Well, that interlock rod might be getting in the way, holding you back from pushing the linkage past its normal resting place in forward gear…Have you tried checking/adjusting the little shift lever adjustment?

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

My apologies, I thought of that, and forgot to mention, I changed lower shift rod, fork and cradle the last time I was in it….

Here are the gear photos:

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

quote fleetwin:

quote Richard A. White:

OK, just checked for slop in the upper linkage… no slop detected….
When you say you can "feel" drag when pulling "hard" against to forward stop… I do not think it is going that far forward. I shift into forward, and hold it there, when rotating the prop within its range of "free" movement I feel no drag at all.. And finally when running on the water, when holding the shift lever in forward, it did not slip nor did I feel it slip, as soon as I let go of that lever, she "slipped"

Well, that interlock rod might be getting in the way, holding you back from pushing the linkage past its normal resting place in forward gear…Have you tried checking/adjusting the little shift lever adjustment?

Yup, tried to adjust the shift elver adjustment, no dice, actually made it worse..

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[jerry-ahrens]

Those ramps on the gears look pretty worn. Maybe it’s time for a new clutch dog along with a gear set?

[fleetwin]

quote FrankR:

Man, are you Sure the dog and gear are good? It sure doesn’t sound like it. Ok, giving it the benefit of the doubt, how about a bent shifter fork in the lower unit?

Frank is right, of course. The damage may already have been done, from the sounds of things, seems like it has been jumping out of gear quite a bit. But, it would be nice to know what has caused the failure….

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

I guess with the detent…how the heck can it pop out??

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[Author]

Posts