1983 OMC Stringerno reverse

" I have a 83 stringer that ha

" I have a 83 stringer that has "lost"reverse. I can hear it trying to mesh,acts like it's not going far enough.I have adjusted the cable up top,and all that did,was enable it to start in forward gear.
My question is...is it posible for the lower cable to break (it seems to have a cable going to the shift fork)..and if so,is it hard to change,or does it sound like bigger problems,like gears. The gear oil does not have any metal to speak of.
I did not hit anything...it just wouldnt go in one day. Forward gear is fine,no noise,or vibration,even at full throttle.(I ran it a month with no reverse..no other problems)
This is hooked up to a 25-5' SeaRay,10'beam,so it's fairly heavy, w/350 chevy engine. Single drive.
Any info is a help,and will be appreciated.
Fish On!! "

" Bruce,

If you had gear pr

" Bruce,

If you had gear problems, it would be much more likely to be noticed in forward gear first. That doesn't mean that you don't , but I would check a few other things first. Disconnect the upper shift cable at the shift box and move the shift lever manually. This will eliminate any possible problems in your control box or primary cable. Your drive is nearing twenty years old. If your lower cable has not been replaced,it is overdue. It doesn't sound like this cable is broken, but it is quite possible that it it stretched, or that one of the rollers in the "shift box" is worn or damaged. This is the gray box located at the rear of the engine, the one the control cable connects to. After you read through your service manual you may want to take a look inside that box. Unlike a Mercruiser, there is no intermediate shift linkage. This lower cable goes directly to the lower unit. Make sure everything looks good inside and that the cable is not frayed at all. If everything appears to be operating properly and you don't have any experience with these units, you may wish to seek professional help as the next stop is the lower unit. Good luck "

I have an 88 Bayliner Capri w/

I have an 88 Bayliner Capri w/ a 5.0 i/o by OMC. Recently my reverse has been not working. Forward is working fine but reverse is not at all. There is a slight noise that sounds like gears not meshing all of the way. In addition there is small amounts of metal shavings in the gear oil. Do I need to replace gears or is there an adjustment I can make ?