Gear selection 1995 115HP

Hi all.
I’m facing a challange at the moment. My OB wont go into reverse.
I’ve pulled the lower unit checked and adjusted the selector shaft length to spec according to the manual.
Problem 1 - The star ajustment on the throttle cable (motor end) ends up beeing fully extended.
Problem 2 - I can not get it to a point where I have both forward and reverse, I have mucked all day, but when I get forward to engage I cna not get reverse to also be angageable. The dog clutch any just touches (can feel and hear it). Its almost as if the travel required is mor than whats avalable from the remote.

Thanks for your help

Your model # is ?-----What measurement for length are you using ?----Did this problem show up suddenly ?------Does it shift properly without cable attached ?-----In neutral is the shift arm at the motor vertical, yes or no ?

Hi and thanks for the reply.

To give a bit of a background. I bought the boat (and motor) a year ago, never had to (or tried to) use reverse up to a month ago. I'm assuming that it never worked in the time I had the boat.

One more note that could be quite important, the remote cables are a bit long and they've been looped.

Things I've done so far:
1) Removed, cleaned and freshly greased the remote. Loads of old bearing type grease in there, so assuming the previous owner did something similar.
2) Oiled the remote cables, with a compressor as per dangar marine video's
3) Dropped the gearbox (numerous times) to try and adjust the shifter rod to try and get a sweet spot. Managed to get to a place where I couldn't properly engage either forward or reverse (although it would catch a bit) from the remote. Can't recall if I could engage with the remote disconnected.


Your model # is? Unknown, unfortunately, the plate has been removed at some point in the OB's life. I've had the motor identified on the Evinrude forum as a 95, 115HP. Measured the leg length and that is 25 inches.
https://community.evinrude.com/t5/Owner-s-Zone/i-d-serial-number-without-id-plate/m-p/33968#M12820

What measurement for length are you using? Metric, although the workshop manual has both metric and imperial. BTW I understand that the rod length should be 666.8mm or 26 1/4 inches.

Did this problem show up suddenly? Unknown, assuming not.

Does it shift properly without cable attached?
Yes, no worries. Even with the cables attached, if I put it in reverse at the remote, and add a little bit of pressure at the motor end it would engage. So really about 2 or 3 mm (1/16 or 3/32).

In neutral is the shift arm at the motor vertical, yes or no?
Not 100%. Refer pics. It's actually a bit further back, so I would assume reverse should be easier to engage from there.

The shifter rod is set to a predetermined dimension and is not adjusted by feel !!-------Picture of the lower unit from the side ?

Oh yeah, get it. I had it set to 666.8mm (as per workshop manual) using the procedure by dangar marine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufy6W9EI1cg
But then when it still wouldn't engage both forward and reverse (and the star adjuster was all in) I thought I should maybe just the rod a bit, the rid is still 1 full turn in from spec (666.8mm).

deleted wrong info.

HeinrichF said:

Oh yeah, get it. I had it set to 666.8mm (as per workshop manual) using the procedure by dangar marine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufy6W9EI1cg
But then when it still wouldn't engage both forward and reverse (and the star adjuster was all in) I thought I should maybe just the rod a bit.....

Click to expand...

Been there, done that. Your problem is possibly something other than the shift rod.

First, find the welch plug on top of the engine. It should be stamped with a serial# and/or model # and that will help make sure you're using the correct length to adjust your shift rod.

When you adjust the rod, there is no turning a little more one way or another. As Racerone stated, these are fixed lengths and you need to set the rod height exactly as specified.

have you verified that your cables are good? You said they are too long and have large loops. it's possible the loop is too tight somewhere and the cable is binding when you try to shift.

You might want to verify you have the correct shift rod installed. Since you bought this used, it's entirely possible a previous owner has swapped parts and you could have incompatible pieces.

Here's my story on shift rod lengths: http://www.marineengine.com/boat-fo...uder-150-Shift-Rod-Height&highlight=shift+rod

The Reader's Digest Version: Previous owner installed a different gear case from a 150 that used a 1/2" longer shift rod. They adjusted the cable to a point where it shifted, but just barely engaged the gear. When I installed the new rod I had to make MASSIVE adjustments to the cable so the linkage would be in the proper location.

First do the easy things: get model #, verify rod adjustment height, set according to the manual, and set your cable adjuster to factory spec. If you still have problems after doing this you need to troubleshoot the cables and verify the mechanism in the controls is working properly. If the problem persists after all this, you need to look at something goofy like mine where the wrong rod was installed.

Good luck.

Thank you Kevin. You're story sound extremely frustrating.
So when the shift rod is set exactly to spec, I get forward without any issues but reverse isn't quite catching (doing a bit of grind). But if I put a bit of pressure on it with my finger (motor end) and move it an additional 2 - 3 mm it engages.
I'm now thinking that it could be the clutch dog that has rounded edges on the reverse side.
The remote cables have a loop (about a foot in diameter) at the transom before going out to the splashwell where there is a bit of slack as well.
Remote is working fine.

Thanks

Hein

HeinrichF said:

Thank you Kevin. You're story sound extremely frustrating.
So when the shift rod is set exactly to spec, I get forward without any issues but reverse isn't quite catching (doing a bit of grind). But if I put a bit of pressure on it with my finger (motor end) and move it an additional 2 - 3 mm it engages.

Click to expand...

Yes, it was extremely frustrating and I had almost the exact same symptoms as you. I could easily engage reverse and it would go into forward, but I started noticing that when I was at light throttle I would feel a clunk. The first time I heard it I thought I hit a stump. Under more throttle it was never an issue but the low-speed clunk became more frequent so that's when I started investigating.

When I finally got down to the shift rod I couldn't get it to the correct height. That's when I started chasing leads all over the internet and Faztbullet helped point me in the right direction.

I don't want to jump to conclusions and say you also have the wrong shift rod, but the symptoms are similar. I don't have any manuals to reference, but this chart I found shows your shift rod height should be 26 29/32" (683.25mm).

If that's true, your problem could simply be an improper adjustment. The rod moves down for reverse and if you have it too short it will easily pull up for forward but won't quite reach low enough to fully engage the clutch dog for reverse.

I'd suggest you find a model # somewhere and verify this rod length against that number to be 100% certain. Once you're confident of the right length and have it set, disconnect the shift cable from the linkage and reinstall the gear case . With the motor off and key out of the ignition, manually move the linkage to forward gear. Does the prop lock into gear and you can't spin it counter clockwise? Next manually move back to neutral position. Does the prop spin freely in both directions? Finally, manually move the shift linkage to reverse position. Does the prop lock and you can't move clockwise? If all these are true, that means your shift rod is properly adjusted.

Now, with the linkage centered in neutral, hold the shift cable into place and thread the adjuster in or out until the mounting locations line up with the retainer bracket (the one you pictured) and the mounting pin on the linkage. If this all works out right, you should have clean shifting between F-N-R.

Oh, and after all of this, be sure to drain your gear case oil through a fine mesh to look for metal shavings and also inspect your magnetic drain plug. If you see large shavings you have damage to the gears. If it's just fine material you should be okay.

KJ

deleted

Thank you Kevin.

I'll be away from home for the next few days, so realistically the earliest I'll be able to pull the leg again will be the weekend of the 24th.

I've reverse engineered my serial to be 115TXAOR, although according to the Seloc manual it shouldn't really matter as the V4 and V6 60deg ourboards from 92-96 should have the same rod length.

If your motor is a US Domestic 1995 the model# should have EO in the last 3 letters. OMC used the word Introduces as a code for the numbers 1-0 in the model numbers. Typically the last letter is for the production run and the 2nd from last and next to last are the letters that indicate the 2-digit year.



If your model # ends in OR, that equates to a 54, which is most definitely NOT the situation
Here is a link to help domestic model #:
http://www.marineengine.com/parts/e...ohnson-evinrude-model-number-guide-00002.html

This link has a comprehensive listing of model #'s. https://www.maxrules.com/models/OMC_models_files/1980_1999/75_150.html There must be some differences with International model numbers that confuses things a bit. But, if you look on the list, there is no 115TXAOR. There is a 115TXAR for a 1994, and 115TXAO for a 1995.

I know you have a seloc manual there, but this still sounds like your issue is the adjustment height. If you look at this reference, it shows settings different from your info: http://outboardmarine.co.nz/catalogues/J&E-shift-rod.pdf

In this reference the measurement was 681.6mm from '89-'94, then went to 666.8mm in 1995. If it's at all possible you have a 1994 model engine, that would explain your issues...or maybe a previous owner swapped a different gear case on your engine like happened to me.

Just for grins, try it with the rod adjusted at 681.6mm and and the cables properly adjusted then see how the shifting feels. If the problem is still there, you possibly have clutch dog problems. But, if it goes away you're likely fine.

KJ

But ---clearly this is a 60 degree looper engine.----As far as I know it was NOT marketed in 1994.-----First year was 95 !!-----It does appear that it may have a V-6 Lower unit or other on the 25" model !!

racerone said:

But ---clearly this is a 60 degree looper engine.----As far as I know it was NOT marketed in 1994.-----First year was 95 !!-----It does appear that it may have a V-6 Lower unit or other on the 25" model !!

Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing that out, this is definitely a 60 degree V4 and I wasn't aware that model didn't start until 1995.

Do you have any ideas of what might be the issue for the OP? If 26 1/4" is the correct rod length and he still has to give the linkage a push to engage reverse then something isn't right.

Perhaps the shift cable is WORN OUT internally.-----I can not see or feel the parts on this motor.-----A qualified shop will be able to sort this out.------Running the way it is can get expensive !