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Reverse gearnewbie

H

huitzi

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"Ive recently purchased a 13ft

"Ive recently purchased a 13ft savage runabout with a 50 hp mercury outboard,the whole package was cheap and this is why.....all the wiring was completely stuffed up so after rewiring the whole boat completely which took a good part of a week (im no expert but obtained a wiring diagram so just done it all from that)so now the boat is a runner starts very easily doesn't miss a beat ,and replaced the lower gear case oil and found a small amount of glitter but very minimal the plug seals seemed to be the original item so they got replaced as well, the problem is that i dont have reverse gear and it is seeming like its probably the linkages,also it seems to be idling a bit to high id say at 1600 to 2000 rpm and i cant figure out how to adjust it, really im a car person and can do pretty much anything with cars but this marine motor has me stumped and im just staying on the carefully side of something that i dont know a lot about any help would be very much appreciated thank you in advance for any assistance i can get.
BTW i have read a lot on this site over the last week and there is some great information and so helpful to the novice.
Cheers Doug
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"
 
"Doug, do you have a serial nu

"Doug, do you have a serial number for the motor - that will help determine what to adjust..."
 
"Dedending on how new/old the

"Dedending on how new/old the motor is - standing behind the motor, on the right hand side, on the ehaust housing (leg) at a point where it meets the bracket (that holds the motor onto the boat).

On newer models, there is a sticker close to where the fuel line is connected...."
 
I found this serial number on

I found this serial number on the boat side of the motor on the pivot bracket 4280394 does this seem right it cleary said serial no
 
these are all the numbers i co

these are all the numbers i could find on the whole motor:
14403255
4280394
21535599
60785
 
"That serial makes it a 1975,

"That serial makes it a 1975, model 500, 4 cylinder 50 horse - does that sound like a description of your engine?

And if the model is right, the thread you included could well be your problem. If it is, JB can give you some advice - knows these motors pretty well..."
 
"That sounds spot on Graham,iv

"That sounds spot on Graham,ive done a check on the cables and they seem ok and not slack.
Ive read so much today about the gear drive alignment and sure sounds like the problem all I need is some instructions on the lower case removal and what to look out for and I should be able to fix it and get this boat on the water.
Thanks heaps for your help Graham.
How do I find JB?
Cheers Doug"
 
"ok, lets drop the lower, 2 nu

"ok, lets drop the lower, 2 nuts up front on each side, 2 in back, 1 of those is under the trim tab so it has to come off also. Just leave the gear shift in neutral. when the lower unit comes off we need to check it to see what gears we have. By rotating the front splined shaft and turning the drive shaft clockwise we should get all the gears. No need to put it back on till we get neutral and reverse. Turning the shift shaft counterclockwise should be rev gear."
 
"Thanks for your quick reply J

"Thanks for your quick reply JB,
So they are all above the water intake vents is this correct and there is one under a plug at the very rear of the motor is this correct also and do I need to drain the lower gear case oil as well or can I leave it in there.
Cheers Doug"
 
"oil stays in lower, 2 5/8 nut

"oil stays in lower, 2 5/8 nuts along the fin line. 7/16 bolt to remove trim tab, then 2 nuts, 1 right in front of trim tab and 1 inside trim tab hole. If I remember right. Exhaust tube, waterpump tube and shift linkage should stay in the center section, drive shaft will come out with lower unit.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCURY-OUTBOARD-LOWER-UNIT-35-40-HP-BR-6449_W0QQ itemZ310037114615QQihZ021QQcategoryZ50439QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
thats what it looks like"
 
"Thanks JB its 1:50am here so

"Thanks JB its 1:50am here so im going for some shut eye and tomorrow ill do all of that and hopefully get success,and ill repost my results,if i get all gears and neutral im assuming it ok to reassemble and turn the flywheel to line it up again with the gear lever in neutral aswell ;)"
 
"yes, but if the engine is now

"yes, but if the engine is now running you should put a waterpump in the lower unit. The pump is in the plastic housing surrounding the driveshaft. They get very dry rotted from sitting, should be changed every 2 years. $20 american. remove housing and pump, grease new pump and install on shaft, rotate drive shaft and slide housing down on pump while turning shaft."
 
"Thanks JB, well today was mos

"Thanks JB, well today was mostly a good day I dropped the lower section and got all gears working replaced the impeller( which was totally gone really)and reassembled the lower and I didn't have reverse but did have forward and neutral,so I pulled it apart again and reassembled and it was the same.forward and neutral but no reverse,then while the gear lever was in reverse I just pushed on the cable where it goes into the motor and it engaged reverse so only about 1mm adjustment should be required ,so my next question is what is easier...is there any adjustments in the control box or do I need to do it from the motor,and if it needs to be done from the motor what is the best way to do it.
any help from here would be greatly appreciated JB I would like to also like to take this moment to thank all input on this thread because without your help im sure I would have spent a heap of cash already.
Cheers Doug
"
 
"glad to hear things went well

"glad to hear things went well, you are doing better than most on there first time. Now the bad news, there is a begining cable adjustment that I don't remember. Its something like the bolt on the engine lines up with the link on the end of the cable, I just can't recall. What ever it is probably won't help, you most likely have something else wrong (bad cable).The cable only moves so far, unless its way off. I would lube everything and check the reverse lock adjustment to make sure its not binding up the linkage. The engine should lock in reverse and neutral when correct. The cable is only $20, but can be tough to change on the control box. The waterpump is more bad news. When they get to the point of falling apart, the pieces go up the water tube and block the cooling passages. Good luck with that, preventive maintenance is best. A little lube on the drive shaft top is good also. Change the lower unit oil when you get it going, fill from the bottom up with a pump, and new seals. Let me know if you need something, you can click on name for email or post here.
edit I guess the shift shaft could be 1 spline off, but I think you got it right"
 
"The impeller was all there JB

"The impeller was all there JB not all broken up but burnt and not creating a seal on the wall of the housing,ill try to adjust that cable tomorrow and grease up everything that needs to be done.
I'm really trying to avoid spending cash on this vessel so if I can do this without buying a new cable ill give it a go,in Australia the Merc parts are a bit dearer than there the impeller was 38 dollars here which i thought was very expensive for a piece of rubber with a brass insert lol
"
 
"does this site ship to the ot

"does this site ship to the other end of the Earth?
Ebay?


Never shift into rev without the engine running, it stretches the cable, and alway shift quick, slow shifts are bad for the clutch/dog assembly"
 
"Just to add my tuppence worth

"Just to add my tuppence worth you also might have a look at the barrel sits in the cable retainer,I'm not sure if this is the same set up as my beautiful
lol.gif
merc800,but i had the same problem mainly because there was too much play in the recess for the ajustment barrel."
 
"i had a play with the cables

"i had a play with the cables and its all ok
thank you all very much for your expert advise.
Cheers Doug"
 
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