1968 evinrude fastwin 18 popping out of gear

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  • July 28, 2017 at 12:53 am #7765
    davesko
    Participant

      I just finished this fastwin 18 and test ran it and it was banging and jumping out of gear, I figured bad clutch dog. So I had a known good lower unit so I changed it out. Still banging and popping out of gear. What am I missing? Thanks in advance

      July 28, 2017 at 9:45 am #62309
      billw
      Participant

        US Member - 2 Years

        Do you have the spring loaded arm on the starboard side of the power head that extends out of the lower cowl? On the end is a cam that acts as a detent to hold the gear shift in either neutral, forward or reverse. On an 18, that’s about all there is to hold it in gear. There IS an adjustment that is made, there. You can also double check that your shift rod connector is installed properly (holes line up with grooves in shafts) and proper bolts are nice and snug but not stripped out. Also check the bell crank under the power head, that connects the handle shaft to the vertical upper shift rod, for slop/looseness. That being said, once one of those cases jumps out of gear under full load, even once, it is telling you that the forward gear and clutch dog are toast. Maybe you just had two bad lowers. It’s pretty common on 18s through 40s.

        Long live American manufacturing!

        July 28, 2017 at 12:12 pm #62318
        fleetwin
        Participant

          US Member - 2 Years

          How do you know the second lower unit is "known good"?

          July 28, 2017 at 2:23 pm #62325
          davesko
          Participant

            I took the lower unit off a motor that I had just used hours before and had used that motor for years, just wasn’t pretty so I took the lower unit off.

            July 28, 2017 at 4:49 pm #62330
            chinewalker
            Participant

              US Member

              Chances are adjusting the shift handle will help. Some detective work and "feel" can tell you how centered it is in the clutch dog apparatus. By turning the prop back and forth, you can find there the lugs are on the dog. Then some gentle shifting to find out how far the handle moves before engaging/disengaging the gears. I believe you’ll find that the shift handle moves almost all the way forward before engaging your forward gears, which means the dog is just barely holding the mating lugs on the gear. Adjust so that the handle moves about equally fore/aft before engagement begins.

              July 28, 2017 at 5:30 pm #62333
              chris-p
              Participant

                Agree with Chinewalker above. Find these very often out of adjustment. I slightly favour forward gear when I set them.

                July 28, 2017 at 9:50 pm #62341
                fleetwin
                Participant

                  US Member - 2 Years

                  OK, well then there must be a linkage or adjustment problem….Follow CW’s advice. I’m thinking there is some slop/lost motion in the linkage somewhere causing this dramatic problem….Try removing the shift rod connector cover, and the vertical interlock lever….Then, hold the shift rod as tight as you can with long needle nose while someone gently rocks the shift lever back in forth to check for dramatic slop/lost motion….

                  July 29, 2017 at 1:17 am #62353
                  davesko
                  Participant

                    Thanks guys, made a few adjustments and got rid of the slop and replaced the spring on the interlock lever because it provided no tension and took it for a run and it works great. Thanks again guys

                    July 29, 2017 at 10:28 am #62361
                    billw
                    Participant

                      US Member - 2 Years

                      Sounds like you lucked out/caught it very early…. I am not usually that lucky with OMC dogs and gears.

                      Long live American manufacturing!

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