2005 BF15 clicking/grinding in reverse

Hello everyone. Murphy’s law here...just as I seem to be making progress restoring an old tinny, last week, the motor started acting up. arrgghhh!! The motor is a 2005 BF15 SHSA. When I put it in reverse, the motor begins to make a clicking/grinding noise and when given throttle, the motor begins to “jump” up out of the water. While on the water, I have to apply pressure on the handle (reverse) for it to stop making the noise. I’m thinking it’s not fully engaging into gear, grinding the teeth away.

The LU is topped of with clean oil and I’ve attempted to adjust the shifting cable linkage. Problem is, I’m not exactly sure where the correct placement on the linkage is. At first (before my 1st adjustment) it would make the noise in a tote of water. After adjusting by raising it, almost towards the linkage connection, it seemed ok in reverse while in the tote. Unfortunately, while on the water, the same problems continued. It there a certain measurement that the connection needs to be at? All adjustments are being made while in the reverse position. Any and all help is appreciated. Many thanks in advance

I would say you need to look at the shift rod coupler.-----I believe it has a left and a right hand thread.----Often not set up properly after a water pump service.-----Easy for me to adjust but takes many words to explain to a novice.

The clicking, grinding is probably due to a shift rod adjustment as racerone says. There are many posts archived here related to making the adjustment and you tube videos with tutorials as well. But I will explain how to do it if you have trouble finding those.

The jumping up though is likely due to a faulty or frozen tilt latch mechanism. OR, the pin that adjusts the motor transom angle that the latch grabs on to has fallen out. That happens alot because the pin retainer "blade" releases due to wear and vibration. You can buy a new pin or you can replace it with an extra long bolt with a locking nut.

Good luck.

https://www.boats.net/catalog/honda/outboard-by-hp-serial-range/15hp/bf15d5-lha-2005/swivel-case-1

Check out items 13 through 17 in above link. Make sure your outboard has all that and that it's free and lubricated. If all is well there, the pin down lower is probably missing.

That outboard should latch down solid and not bounce if the latch is working properly. You should have to move the release to tilt up.

Good luck.

Once you obtain a good shift shaft adjustment and can select reverse with no grinding you need to keep in mind that shifting an outboard is somewhat counterintuitive.

Meaning that many people think gently pushing the gear shift is a good idea. But, because these use what are called "dog clutches", it's just the opposite.

Gently pushing or pulling the shifter from neutral to forward or reverse will typically result in a sort of "soft" grinding or chattering noise. If this is the case, it means that the dog clutch "ears" are bouncing off of each other instead of immediately engaging.

This can cause rapid clutch wear and premature failure.

It's better to shift an outboard with a swift, firm motion so that the dogs engage quickly and solidly to keep the chattering to a minimum.

One OTHER thing many folks don't realize is that an outboard must have the prop turning when the transmission is shifted. It's not something you need to worry about as long as the engine is running because it happens automatically then.

But if you try selecting gears while the engine is stopped you should be manually turning the propeller while doing so. The reason is that the clutch can get "bound up" or stuck and not engage correctly. Then, if the shifter is forced to obtain the desired gear, it is possible to bend the shift rod or, worse, break a clevis in the shifter linkage.

Shifting an outboard without the prop being slowly rotated by hand (direction doesn't matter) is what I call "dry shifting"...for lack of a better term.

Dry shifting during adjustment or other maintenance is often the VERY reason an outboard may require the shift rod to be adjusted in the first place.

I believe you can shift this 15 HP motor ( not running ) from neutral to forward and back to neutral all day long.----No damage will result.------Just do not shift to reverse with motor stopped.-----Shifting to reverse requires prop to be turning or motor running.

Racerone and jgmo, thank you very much for your time and effort to assist. I’m happy to say...problem solved!!! With your knowledge and expertise, I was able to correctly set the linkage adjustment. Like a true noob, I wasn’t aware that I needed to spin the prop manually while setting the adjustment. Before hand, the prop would stick/click in one spot while spinning (reverse) in neutral. Using that as my starting point, I was able to reference your advice and remedy the problem. After getting it to spin free without binding/sticking, I tightened her up, filled up the tote and it ran perfectly! Took her out yesterday and I’m happy to report that I no longer have to worry about the issue. I’ll look more into the tilt mechanism for the proper setting, however, after gunning it in reverse the motor was perfectly stable. I know it must be trivial to you guys, but I’d like to say that I have learned a lot with the information you shared. I truly appreciate it and on behalf of everyone on the forums, thank you and everyone else who try to help out.

What’s the best way to end a great day on the water?? Last cast, stuck a chunky 5# lmb on the hudd. Slow rolling in 20’...again, great day and its all thanks to you two. Can’t seem to post pics, but I’m sure you know what Silverwood looks like jgmo, hehe. I’m about 2 hours north of ya

Thanks again Racerone & Jgmo, cheers!

Chowboy,

Fantastic news! It's always a great reward when someone tells about a successful repair. I wish it were always the case.

Oh yes! I know Silverwood! I did some contract work up there a while back. Beautiful lake! There was a 33' Ranger sailboat moored up there at the time and, after getting his Atomic 4 engine running, the skipper gave me a "water tour" of the lake.

It was a loooong drive up there for me and I was VERY glad NOT to be on the team that ended up pulling that Ranger out and down that road! Must've been a "puckering" adventure!

Thanks for the feedback!