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Forward and Reverse are backwards when shifting.

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Rolson1976

Member
I have taken this boat to a "marine repair" place that works on older boats. I think this guy is going out of business. I requested that he replace my throttle and shift cables. After I paid him, I took the boat out for test run. When I put the boat in reverse, it went forward and when shifting to forward, it went backwards. I am trying to get ahold of the guy but he is not returning my calls. If I have to fix this myself, what would be the procedure. It is a 1974 Mercury 115 Horse Outboard two stroke.
 
Sounds like he got the "push" and "pull" on the shift cable backwards...not a mechanically challenging job but usually have to remove the control box to get access.

a picture of the control will help locate the appropriate directions....you may have to link to an external host...
 
no problem...we all learned the process at some point...BTW, used to need 5 posts before you could add pictures...they have a separate forum (bottom of the list) for trial posts...

did you get the shifter resolved?
 
I have taken it back to the mechanic. I may have been too hasty in thinking that he is going out of business. He charged me $318.00 for the cables and replacement of them. I should have tried to do it myself. Live and learn. We will see how this turns out.
 
opps
 

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How did it shift for you last season ?----Do you have the correct prop on it ?-----The shift cable is the first one that moves.------Remove cables and test shift motor manually.
 
I put a new water jacket on the motor. When I put it back together, the shifter was stuck in first gear. After some frustrating effort and failing, I took the boat to this mechanic who recommended new cables. He repositioned manually the shift rod in the lower unit( which I had backwards) Prior to all the work , the prop was correct and it shifted fine. I have taken the boat back to him and he has promised to correct the shift problem so forward is "really forward" and reverse is "really reverse"
 
Sounds like he has shift and throttle cables hooked up backwards on the motor or the control box. That's why I always put a piece of tape on each end of the shift cable so you don't mix them up initially. But if your mechanic actually checked his work, you would not have received it that way.
 
fitz73222 said:
Sounds like he has shift and throttle cables hooked up backwards on the motor or the control box. That's why I always put a piece of tape on each end of the shift cable so you don't mix them up initially. But if your mechanic actually checked his work, you would not have received it that way.
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I have taken the boat back to him. He said that he would correct the mistake. However, I have been by his shop three times during the week during business hours and his place is all closed up. I think that I will probably be trying to fix this myself. Cn you recommend a good DIY video link for this?
 
I finally got ahold of the mechanic who asked me if I was using a "different propeller" recently. He also asked if I had pulled shifter out of the base of the lower unit when I was replacing the impeller. The answer was no to both questions. He did say that he would take another look at it to see if he missed something. I am at a loss myself to understand what is wrong. Any suggestions?
 

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You mean a left hand propeller that never existed for that motor? You would have had to remove the shift shaft bushing in order to remove the shift shaft, take it out and getting exactly 180 degrees opposite into the shift cam, put it back together and then you would keep it a secret and not tell him, correct? He's got the cables backwards! Run Forest, run!
 
makomark said:
Sounds like he got the "push" and "pull" on the shift cable backwards...not a mechanically challenging job but usually have to remove the control box to get access.

a picture of the control will help locate the appropriate directions....you may have to link to an external host...
Click to expand...
How do I link to an external host?
 
use the insert a link function...looks like two interconnected chain links on a 45 degree angle, click the icon, enter the URL of the location, and enter a brief text description.
 
So I took the boat to another boat mechanic. The issue seems to be the lower unit shifter got put back on incorrectly. My new mechanic is trying to figure out the correct placement on the shifter on the splines of male end of the shift mechanism.
 
The cam usually is labeled "top", "up" or part number goes up.
It sounds to me like both your mechanics are worthless.
 

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Droid said:
The cam usually is labeled "top", "up" or part number goes up.
It sounds to me like both your mechanics are worthless.
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The last guy worked hard on the solution. I believe he fixed it. Your picture does not look like anything that I have on my boat. On the splines there is not indication of where the correct "sweet spot" is for forward, reverse and neutral. I found a DIY u tube video that had a similar problem for a 1984 Mercury outboard. I am taking the boat out tomorrow to see if it really is fixed.
 
The picture hows the shift cam inside the lower unit. It is discussed in #15 above "He also asked if I had pulled shifter out of the base of the lower unit when I was replacing the impeller." & further in #16 above.
 
The boat now works. Yeah! Thanks everyone for your input. I did run from my first "mechanic". In southeast Idaho, I have found there are very few mechanics willing to work on older boats. I appreciate the advice that was offered in this forum. Thank you!
 
Well I finally got the boat out to a body of water which is now a rarity with water reserves depleting in Idaho. I have a forward and reverse but no throttle. I will take the control box apart to see if there is a disconnect. When I move the the lever the throttle cable does not move at all.
 
I took the control box apart and discovered that the throttle cable's anchor barrel had broken. I am taking it back to mechanic number 1 to cover it under warranty. The anchor barrel actually had electrical tape wrapped around the barrel(?) When I asked the guy about it, he said that the guy who worked on it may have used the tape to make the barrel fit since my control box is over 40 years old. He said that he did that in lew of saying that I need a whole new control box. It is an old boat and I am learning more than I ever wanted to learn. I am giving the guy the benefit of the doubt.
 
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