200 Evinrude 1989 driveshaft play

"Looking for the source of a k

"Looking for the source of a knock that I hear at idle both in and out of gear.

I dropped the lower unit and noticed that I can move the driveshaft up and down about 2mm. There is also some rotational play in the propshaft when in gear. Is this normal?

I also found a 1/2 long sliver of metal on the drain plug magnet, so I am pretty sure that this needs to be opened up and inspected.

The propshaft was replaced a few years ago after it sheared off while cruising for some unknown reason."

"I have no idea what 2mm relat

"I have no idea what 2mm relates to in inches BUT there will be a sight bit of vertical play in the driveshaft, very slight.

The play in rotation of the propshaft in gear is normal. This is the distance between the shifter lobes on the shifter dog and the gear.

A sliver of metal is a bad sign. Time to look into the gearcase. The gears, forward, reverse, and pinion, with the engine running, are constantly rotating regardless of whether the engine is in gear or not."

Thanks Joe. The play is at le

Thanks Joe. The play is at least 1/16 (.0625)inch. And moving the shaft up and down does produce a definite knocking sound.

"Being retired since around 19

"Being retired since around 1991, I really don't recall what that vertical play is supposed to be. I did always use the factory special tool to shim properly when replacing a driveshaft, and I do recall that with the shims being perfect that when assembled, vertical play would exist as you describe, but how much..... just don't recall. Someone, hopefully, will no doubt jump in here with the proper comment about that.

However, that sliver, piece of steel, steel chip, whatever one wishes to call it does present a problem in my mind. I'd tear the gearcase down for inspection."

My service manual calls for .0

My service manual calls for .020" clearance between the gauge bar and pinion once assembled if using the tool. There is definitley several times that much vertical movement in the shaft.

"Only the pinion gear looks ch

"Only the pinion gear looks chewed up on some teeth. The others look perfect. I assume that the reverse gear thrust washer is not supposed to be round.

There is some wear on the clutch dog, more on the reverse side, which is consistent with the poor shifting into reverse. Seems that there is only .75" travel in the cable, whereas the manual calls for 1.25". I have complained about the shifting since this motor was new and no one was able to adjust it to work properly. Not sure why the cable wasn't addressed. I'm sure it just got worse over time as the cables stretched. I have a new set ready to install.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n241/TDOC2004/PDRM5801.jpg"

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n241/TDOC2004/PDRM5803.jpg""

"I've never come across a

"I've never come across a stretched control cable. Don't think that's possible.

Your comment about the reverse gear thrust washer is correct pertaining to the inner surface edge only. The outer edge should be perfectly round

The pinion and forward gear unfortunately are a matched set and cannot be putchased separately.

In order to shift properly, the lower unit shift rod must be a precise length, in neutral, between the top surface of the lower unit to the center of the shift ror hole.

200, 225hp Loop Charged = (L) 21-15/16" - - (XL) 26-15/16" plus/minus 1/32" Have the shift rod on these engines in neutral and facing forward."

Thanks Joe.

Why would the t

Thanks Joe.

Why would the travel in the cable be so much less than spec? I checked it as per the manual. It was not possible to adjust the cable to get both good forward and reverse shifts. Just one or the other.

I believe one of the shops also checked the shift rod height. It looked OK to me too.

"Grant.... If the cable was on

"Grant.... If the cable was one of the old type whereas the ends were removable, it's possible that the inner solid wire may have been cut too short OR the guide ends were installed improperly.

Other than the above explanation, the problem is usually within the control box assembly not providing the proper throw in both directions."

"I believe they are the Snap-I

"I believe they are the Snap-In cables.

Could this pinion gear damage be due to the shaft bouncing up and down? http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n241/TDOC2004/PDRM5817.jpg"

I haven't yet figured out why there was so much vertical play in the shaft. It is equivalent to the thickness of the thrust washer, so shims are irrelevant. There was definitely no "preload" on the gears. Could something else have allowed the pinion to drop down further into the case than normal?"

"Relying on memory here which

"Relying on memory here which could be somewhat flawed. However.....

It seems to me that when shimming the new driveshaft or pinion and using the rather expensive horizontal factory special tool (393185) to do so, the measurement includes the top driveshaft seal and bearing housing, thrust bearing, thrust washers. This sets up a specified measurement between the bearing surface of the pinion and the upper driveshaft seal and bearing housing.

However, it does not result in having the pinion gear teeth tight against the forward and reverse gear. The end result is a specified clearance between those components. When not running, the pinion is resting against the teeth of both gears. When running, hydraulic pressure is created which causes the pinion to rise.... but just how much it would raise, I've forgotten.

I can only assume that the very excessive play that you've encountered is due to the damaged gear teeth..... nothing besides the gear teeth to stop the downward movement. However, that problem is pretty well moot now.

The cables possible having replaceable guides cab be identified by the plastic end guide retaining tubes. If they have allen screws threaded into them that can be removed, they're replaceable."

"I just measured the driveshaf

"I just measured the driveshaft/pinion assembly and it looks to be within spec based on the measurement I found on here, for those of us who do not have the special tool. So I guess that just leaves the gears. Everything else looks OK, besides the clutch dog.

I guess the cables are a non-issue as I have new ones as well. I will see how everything works out when I have it all assembled."