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2001 bf25a reverse shift issue

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Racksnquacks1

New member
First off would like to introduce myself. I am from southern il and an avid waterfowler. I am 25 and have Ben hunting and fishing all my life on the river near my home. I have owned my Honda four stroke 25 hp tiller for about a year now and this is the first major issue I have had to deal with since having carbs adjusted and balanced.

When I shift into reverse the shift rod does not drive down into the lower unit as it should, instead it gives or flexes one way or the other when the motor is off. When the motor is running, it will not always shift into reverse but grind until I pull the lever back into neutral. My question is there a bushing or something along the linkage into the lower unit that is bad causing this to happen. Also while running with outside of the water in the driveway I can hear some very slight clunking or noise in the lower unit. I just had the seals done when I bought it and new fluid before the start of duck season last year.

thanks in advance image.jpg

TS
 
My first assumption is that it has been functioning ok since the reseal job. If not, the first thing to check is the shift linkage adjustment. If it is not right, the motor will not shift into one gear or the other.

If all has been ok until recently, the vertical shift linkage is probably ok but....

The most likely scenario is...a bent link rod (#4) http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Honda/Outboard%20Engine/2001/BF25A1%20LHA%20/HANDLEBAR/parts.html

You said that you were trying to shift the engine without it running. If you must do that, you should also manually turn the propeller by hand so that the clutch dog will engage properly. If you try to force it, like you described, the shift shaft will bend to one side or the other (like you said) and the weakest link is the link rod pointed out above. If it gets bent, just a little, you will not get it to shift into reverse.

The next pieces that crack are one of the plastic pieces in part #10 (shift shaft) http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Honda/Outboard Engine/2001/BF25A1 LHA /SHIFT SHAFT/parts.html. If it is cracked, it can not push down the vertical shift shaft into reverse.

I see this often from our Fire Rescue teams, who have different people operating the motor and unknowingly practice shifting when the engine is not running. If it does not go into gear, they just try to use brute force....then things crack, break, or bend.

As for the clanking...without backpressure, a small amount of clanking is normal when you put it into gear on a flush.

One additional thing to point out....when you run it on a hose with rabbit ears, take some duct tape and tape over the water intake that is on the underside of the horizontal plate (antiventilation plate) just above the prop. If you do not, it will suck air and you can burn up your impeller and overheat your engine while running on the hose.

Mike
 
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