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FD 15 gear lever will not move

B

boatsteve

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I got this motor from my grandfather. he bought it new I am assuming in 1961. the motor has sat for a year. its in great shape. last weekend I put the motor on a sailboat and it started up within a couple of pulls. the issue is the lever that puts the motor into gear seems to be stuck. there appears to be a grease fitting, I haven't put grease to it yet. was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on loosening the lever or advice on how to tackle this issue. I come from atomic four engines and have basically zero experience with outboards and do not want to damage this great little engine. any advice is greatly appreciated. its an 18hp seahorse btw. thanks in advance ...steve.
 
If the gearshift lever right at the powerhead area will not move at all... that is, it does not move even a few thousands of a inch, then it's shaft is no doubt frozen in the passagway under the powerhead. If this is the case, normally a hand held propane torch is used to heat the aluminum surrounding that steel shaft while one attempts to move it back and forth. If successfull in getting it to move, then attempt to force grease into the fitting you speak of.

If on the other hand, the shift lever does move slightly, loosen the bolts that retain the lower unit to see if the shift lever moves even more (something stuck within lower unit). If it does, remove the lower unit for further inspection.
 
joe, thanks for the advice. hopefully this is something I can tackle. wish we lived near him so I could have seen him tinker with the outboards. the motor sounds amazing when running.
 
I'm sure you can handle it, just have a fire extingisher and a garden hose on hand to be on the safe side.
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
Maybe have the engine running when you put the torch to it that way when it shifts your not jamming the clutch dog into the gears.
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Better off to simply spin the prop with your foot. Running the engine and working on it at the same time is not a good idea.... from one who's been there!
 
thanks for the tips to my engine problem.. it worked enough to be able to engage the motor into gear and had a great day on the water. still hard to engage but at least it engages. again thanks for the tip.
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
Another possibility is the shift lock lever is stiff? spray some WD on the pivot point and then pull the grease zert for the shift handle and dig out what you can and then spray some WD in there also. You want it to shift smooth when running so the clutch dog fully enguages. It could create problems if it is not fully into gear.
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..... will do this next time I get out to the boat. again thanks for the help from this very knowledgeable group.
 
The biggest problem with the shift lever, is the same and for most outboards, that have the shift lever under the lower bonnet. The salt water gets in there because the lack of grease and swells the opening and seizes the shift handle. The problem to rectify it is not simple! It requires the removal of the power head to gain access to the shift shaft. To get it to move with heat or wd40 will only be a temporary fix. To try and force grease into the fitting will only cause grease to go were you don't want it. I agree with joe's answer do not put the engine in gear with a stuck gear lever! especially if you are in a boat! you could fall over into the water! Depending on the year of your engine, to remove the lower unit, to see if the problem is there and not the shift lever. Is to undo the bolts and drop the lower unit. There might be an access cover on the leg between the engine and the lower end to access the block which connects the shift shafts together, or it will be between the lower and upper leg, once the bolts are out and you lower the leg. The block should be visible. Just remove one of the bolts and the lower leg can now be removed. At this point you will be able to determine where the problem is. In the leg or the upper shift shaft. Cheers!
 
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