Logo
FULL SITE MENU

Merc 4.5 (1983) - Reverse Lock needs help!

L

legendre

New member
Howdy, first post - and of course, a call for help.. ;-)

I'm trying to sort out the issues with the reverse lock on a 1983 Merc 4.5 single. I need to service the reverse lock cam & operating rod, but I can't see how to get them out of the motor. It looks like I need to completely dismount the motor from the saddle assy. to get at these parts - but that operation seems to require removal of the (upper) shift shaft section, among other things.

Simply pulling the lower end (as if to service the water pump, etc.) doesn't seem to get me where I need to go.

I don't see any other way to approach it. So what's the correct procedure? The service manual I've been referring to doesn't cover this stuff at all.. the rev. lock isn't even mentioned in it.

Thanks in advance for any assistance, and hello from St. Paul, MN!
 
Lacking any additional assistance, I just went ahead and dug in to the motor.


Turns out that I was semi-correct. There is simply NO WAY to access the reverse lock cam & cam retainer without completely removing the entire lower end from the power head, and then some. Six nuts on the bottom side plus one well-glued gasket, as well as the throttle drive need to be dealt with to separate the parts.


Once apart, then the saddle assy. needs to be separated from the drive shaft / exhaust tube section by removing the Circlips and mounts before the cam & retainer become accessible.


But the fun still isn't over. The cam retainer is held down by two #3 Philips screws, which are secured with GREEN LOCTITE.


Not kidding, the green stuff. Even with a quality impact tool, I dang near ruined the heads trying to get them loose. And to make matters worse, you can't use any heat.. else you will melt the plastic retainer and perhaps even the cam.


All I can say is that this is a very crappy aspect of the design. If the parts were metal, maybe.. but how long do they expect a plastic shift-drum & guide to last?


So there you have it. Hope that helps someone, some day.
 
Back
Top