hey everyone, I have a problem with my yamaha 4hp 4 stroke outboard, I can't shift in reverse, all I get are grinding gears and when in forward it sometimes jumps out of gear, any ideas on what could be the problem before I take it in the shop?
outboard problems
- Thread starter fred1diver
- Start date
2nd Kloudie on shift linkage problem. Get it running good and warmed up. Shift into forward until it accepts it, loosen the rod or cable adjust until it is slightly slack in both directions. Tighten it down and test it. It should work fine ,but, if not, try it in reverse using same concept. Please let us know what works! Chief
If your shift selector is on the tiller handle, check the cable that runs along side of the throttle cable. I also have a 4 stroke yamaha that the cable started fraying inside of the protective casing giving me symptoms similar to yours. A quick fix was to add the shift selector handle to the side of the engine for positive shifting.
my shift handle is on the side of the engine, I'll check it out this weekend, if I can't figure it out I'll bring it to a shop
Your shift linkage is indeed a rod actuator on the top side of the hinge side of the outboard, it is adjusted for proper gear engagement. Suggest you get the mechanics shop manual for any outboard you own, that way you can take care of these issues. Take the time to change out your raw water impeller too.
Even if the linkage adjustment doesn't fix it, it's not that difficult to fix. Once the prop if off, pull the bolts behind it. Then pull that housing. That's actually the hard part. Once that's done the gear sets come right out. A pin through the middle pushes the dog clutch between the forward gear and the reverse gear. Your shift linkage makes a cam slide up and down, and pushes the pin in. A spring pushes the pin out. Reverse gear is easy to replace. As others said you can replace the impeller while it's apart.
JerryA
JerryA
so I brought my outboard to the shop today, getting them to change the impeller and change the oil in the foot, now we wait and hope the bill wont be to salty