Pops out of gear?

[hcpookie]

My A4 is running great – have done quite a few improvement projects and while I think she needs a valve job, she runs well. I’ve replaced the oil recently, and the level reads normal. Oil pressure is right around 20-25 at idle, and 30-40 at cruising RPM. Ericson 27.

I took her out yesterday and could barely get forward momentum. After a bit of nail biting in the slip, we observed that the gear lever “pops” out of gear. I can put it in forward, rev the engine, and all is well. After about 15 seconds or so, the gear “pops” back into neutral. The gear has always been difficult to engage, and you now have to lean *really hard* into the lever to keep it in gear. This behavior is making me think that I just need to make an adjustment to the cable length or perhaps oil something.

Thoughts? Is there yet another part I should replace, or is this a simple cable adjustment like I'm thinking it is?

[Don Moyer]

Your reversing gear probably simply needs adjusting. Here's the procedure from Chapter 6 of our service and overhaul manual:

FORWARD MODE ADJUSTING PROCEDURE

1) Place the cockpit shifting lever in neutral.

2) Recheck to be sure the reversing gear is in neutral by turning the prop shaft. The neutral position is at the point where the prop shaft turns most freely.

NOTE: If the forward clutch assembly is not in a good neutral position prior to adjustment, it will be very difficult to rotate the staked adjusting collar in step 6.

3) Remove the access plate on top of the reversing gear assembly.

4) Rotate the gear case cluster until the retaining pin of the adjusting collar is facing upward.

5) Loosen the retaining pin until the staked collar can be turned on its threads. It is not necessary to completely remove the retaining pin from its threads to turn the adjusting collar.

6) Turning the adjusting collar clockwise (as you would be facing the engine from the rear) will tighten the clutch disks when in forward. As a frame of reference, one notch on the adjusting collar makes a large difference and is usually sufficient to prevent slippage.

7) Retighten the retaining pin.

CAUTION: It is very important that the end of the retaining pin extends into one of the notches on the adjusting collar before final tightening. If the end of the pin presses on the collar itself (between notches), or if the pin is simply over-tightened, it is extremely easy to break the cast iron pressure plate.

8) Place the cockpit lever in and out of the forward detent several times to insure a proper "feel". A solid detent should be felt while going in and out of forward, but the adjustment should not be so tight as to cause any concern that the ship's cable and levers may be overstressed.

9) If, after readjusting the forward clutch assembly, the neutral position of the shifting lever in the cockpit is in an awkward location, you can adjust the cable shackle at the engine, or cockpit shifting lever, until the cockpit lever is in a more natural neutral location.

REVERSE MODE ADJUSTING PROCEDURE

1) When the forward mode adjustment is correct, recheck the reverse mode for proper adjustment. There should be a well defined neutral range when coming out of the forward detent, and reverse mode should be felt comfortably before the shifting lever in the cockpit reaches the limits of its rearward travel.

NOTE: There is no "detent" in the reverse mode.

2) If the shifting lever in the cockpit reaches the limits of its travel before reverse mode is securely established, turn the 3/4" hex-headed nut of the reversing brake band clockwise.

3) If the reverse mode is reached too soon, and/or the neutral zone is so small that it is difficult to find a spot where the prop is not turning (one way or the other), turn the adjusting nut counter-clockwise.

NOTE: It is not necessary to remove the retaining spring in order to turn the nut on the reversing band adjusting bolt.


Don

[jhwelch]

Before taking the cover plate off your reversing gear housing
and making an internal adjustment you may want to do some
easy troubleshooting.

When you shift into forwards do you hear/notice a distinct click?
If not, I'm wondering if your shift cable is not moving the shift
lever far enough forwards.

Look to see where the shift lever is positioned when use the
shifter to go into forwards. Then try disconnecting the cable from
the lever and see if you can manually move it farther forwards.

For many years my shifting system was misadjusted and I never
reached the "click" point. A few turns on the shift turnbuckle
gave me the proper range of travel.

-jonathan