I have noticed that when my A4 is idling the propeller shaft is spinning. I checked to see whether the gears were engaged but that is not the problem. Does anyone know about this matter, or how to deal with it? Looking for anything to make my Catalina 27 stand still when idling not spin around the anchor. Thank you
- Status
Me thinks yer clutch
adjustment is to tight. If the gears are not turning then the prop is not turning, unless the boat is moving. Then water movement over the prop will cause the shaft to turn. What makes me think your clutch is out of adjustment is, after re-reading your post. I think you are saying the shift lever is in neutral, and your prop is still turning. Fair Winds Cap'n Dave
adjustment is to tight. If the gears are not turning then the prop is not turning, unless the boat is moving. Then water movement over the prop will cause the shaft to turn. What makes me think your clutch is out of adjustment is, after re-reading your post. I think you are saying the shift lever is in neutral, and your prop is still turning. Fair Winds Cap'n Dave
Thank you Cap'n Dave. Yes the shift lever is in Neutral. Do I need to open the gear box cover and do the adjustment from there? Do I need to hire a professional or try to do it myself. Aldi
I have an A4 and I have the same issue.
When in neutral and running on the hard the prop still spins if a bit slowly. We can run a hose onto the cutlass bearing to help provide the required lubrication. I am sure there is some adjustment that can be made to the transmission but it has not bothered me that much. On our Tartan 27 the access is a bit limited to the tranny so I have not gone there yet. I am not sure what kind of access you have to your A4 on a Catalina 27. Adjusting the shift cable sounds easy enough but in my experience many tasks that sound easy end up taking longer than planned for.
When in neutral and running on the hard the prop still spins if a bit slowly. We can run a hose onto the cutlass bearing to help provide the required lubrication. I am sure there is some adjustment that can be made to the transmission but it has not bothered me that much. On our Tartan 27 the access is a bit limited to the tranny so I have not gone there yet. I am not sure what kind of access you have to your A4 on a Catalina 27. Adjusting the shift cable sounds easy enough but in my experience many tasks that sound easy end up taking longer than planned for.
Caleb, Does it spin so fast that you cannot stop it by hand? As I increase the RPM while idling it makes a big difference where the boat goes. I will try to replace the cable and see what happens from there.
Ahoy Aldi
It's a piece O'Cake to adjust, just hard to explain. Here goes, When you remove the cover plate you will see the Reversing Gear Case Assembly. The forward end of it is a large metal drum, which is the reversing gear casing. Set into the drum on the aft end are the clutch disks with pressure plate, and extending aft from them are three curved pressure plate fingers, they rest on a tapered metal cone. When you move the transmission linkage you will see it move the tapered metal cone, which slides back and forth on the drive shaft. Shifting into forward pulls the tapered metal cone aft spreading the three pressure plate fingers apart, this applies pressure on the clutch disks (due to cams at thier forward ends). The action of the curved fingers slipping into the grove on the tapered metal cone is what gives forward gear the "detente" feeling. When forward is engaged the engine crankshaft, gear casing, clutch, tail shaft and propeller shaft are all locked and rotate together as a single unit. So the prop rotates as fast as the engine turns. FORWARD ADJUSTMENT: Make sure the transmission is in neutral (easy to rotate the prop shaft). Moyer Marine recommends disconnecting the shifter linkage at this point but I did not find that necessary. Remove the cover plate and expose the reversing gear assembly. The three curved pressure plate fingers are attached at the forward end to a cast metal collar (the pressure plate). Rotate the pressure plate until the hex head metal retaining pin is facing up, it is half way between two of the curved fingers. The retaining pin looks like a small hex head bolt with a slot in the head. The bottom end of that bolt goes thru the pressure plate and extends into a slotted adjusting collar (staked collar). IMPORTANT: Mark the original position of the adjustment collar with a drop of paint before moving it because if you lose track of its position it can be time consuming to find the right notch again. Loosen the retaining pin until you can turn the adjusting collar. Make only small adjustments, they make big differences, adjust it one notch at a time. When I first tried this adjustment the collar seemed stuck, and gave way suddenly spinning several notches, I couldn't tell how many so it took alot of trial and error before I got it adjusted correctly. Turn the ajusting collar one slot (notch) clockwise. Clockwise rotation tightens the clutch. If you turn it too far clockwise the shifter lever will require excessive force to put it in forward. Several people have reported that on thier boat the difference between the clutch not slipping and very hard shifting was only one notch. Carefully retighten the retaining pin, making sure that it goes into a slot on the adjusting collar and GENTLY retighten it, it has a lock washer to keep it snug. People have been known to strip the threads or break the cast iron pressure plate where the retaining pin goes through it by over tightening this retaining pin. If you screwed up and the threads get stripped, it is possible to drill and tap a new hole in one of the other thickened sections of the pressure plate, each are 1/3 of the way around the plate. Adjust the shifter linkage if necessary for the neutral position. Test the linkage several times to shift in and out of forward, you want to feel the detente, but the shifting should not be unusually difficult. Reposition the cover plate to keep the oil in the transmission, then start the engine and test the prop for slippage. If it still slips, adjust the adjusting collar another notch and try it again. It usually doesn't take much to get it back into adjustment. Your problem is not slippage but to much pressure so I assume you get the idea of backing off the ring. Fair Winds Cap'n Dave
It's a piece O'Cake to adjust, just hard to explain. Here goes, When you remove the cover plate you will see the Reversing Gear Case Assembly. The forward end of it is a large metal drum, which is the reversing gear casing. Set into the drum on the aft end are the clutch disks with pressure plate, and extending aft from them are three curved pressure plate fingers, they rest on a tapered metal cone. When you move the transmission linkage you will see it move the tapered metal cone, which slides back and forth on the drive shaft. Shifting into forward pulls the tapered metal cone aft spreading the three pressure plate fingers apart, this applies pressure on the clutch disks (due to cams at thier forward ends). The action of the curved fingers slipping into the grove on the tapered metal cone is what gives forward gear the "detente" feeling. When forward is engaged the engine crankshaft, gear casing, clutch, tail shaft and propeller shaft are all locked and rotate together as a single unit. So the prop rotates as fast as the engine turns. FORWARD ADJUSTMENT: Make sure the transmission is in neutral (easy to rotate the prop shaft). Moyer Marine recommends disconnecting the shifter linkage at this point but I did not find that necessary. Remove the cover plate and expose the reversing gear assembly. The three curved pressure plate fingers are attached at the forward end to a cast metal collar (the pressure plate). Rotate the pressure plate until the hex head metal retaining pin is facing up, it is half way between two of the curved fingers. The retaining pin looks like a small hex head bolt with a slot in the head. The bottom end of that bolt goes thru the pressure plate and extends into a slotted adjusting collar (staked collar). IMPORTANT: Mark the original position of the adjustment collar with a drop of paint before moving it because if you lose track of its position it can be time consuming to find the right notch again. Loosen the retaining pin until you can turn the adjusting collar. Make only small adjustments, they make big differences, adjust it one notch at a time. When I first tried this adjustment the collar seemed stuck, and gave way suddenly spinning several notches, I couldn't tell how many so it took alot of trial and error before I got it adjusted correctly. Turn the ajusting collar one slot (notch) clockwise. Clockwise rotation tightens the clutch. If you turn it too far clockwise the shifter lever will require excessive force to put it in forward. Several people have reported that on thier boat the difference between the clutch not slipping and very hard shifting was only one notch. Carefully retighten the retaining pin, making sure that it goes into a slot on the adjusting collar and GENTLY retighten it, it has a lock washer to keep it snug. People have been known to strip the threads or break the cast iron pressure plate where the retaining pin goes through it by over tightening this retaining pin. If you screwed up and the threads get stripped, it is possible to drill and tap a new hole in one of the other thickened sections of the pressure plate, each are 1/3 of the way around the plate. Adjust the shifter linkage if necessary for the neutral position. Test the linkage several times to shift in and out of forward, you want to feel the detente, but the shifting should not be unusually difficult. Reposition the cover plate to keep the oil in the transmission, then start the engine and test the prop for slippage. If it still slips, adjust the adjusting collar another notch and try it again. It usually doesn't take much to get it back into adjustment. Your problem is not slippage but to much pressure so I assume you get the idea of backing off the ring. Fair Winds Cap'n Dave
Aidi. I have never tried to stop the shaft from
spinning by hand. Even on the hard. In the water when we are in neutral I want the throttle way down anyway. I frequently shift into neutral, full well knowing that the prop is still spinning although slowly. We also do not get much thrust in reverse so I am not sure if we have the exact same issues. We have a 2 blade prop and some port prop walk while in reverse. Capn Dave seems to have already done this job on his A4 judging by his input. If his description is not enough for you then you should visit the Moyer Marine webstite yourself: http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/index.php They sell a great manual for the engine that I believe covers the transmission and you can call them for free advice. Good luck.
spinning by hand. Even on the hard. In the water when we are in neutral I want the throttle way down anyway. I frequently shift into neutral, full well knowing that the prop is still spinning although slowly. We also do not get much thrust in reverse so I am not sure if we have the exact same issues. We have a 2 blade prop and some port prop walk while in reverse. Capn Dave seems to have already done this job on his A4 judging by his input. If his description is not enough for you then you should visit the Moyer Marine webstite yourself: http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/index.php They sell a great manual for the engine that I believe covers the transmission and you can call them for free advice. Good luck.
- Status