engine going astern but not ahead

[pauly 237]

hi all, my 1989 suzuki 115hp going astern but no ahead gear just reving has anyone had this prob? Thinking its the morse cable??

[Erin]

Sounds like the gear cable needs some adjustment

[Poly]

Originally Posted by pauly 237

hi all, my 1989 suzuki 115hp going astern but no ahead gear just reving has anyone had this prob? Thinking its the morse cable??

I've had the opposite - and it was an incorrectly adjusted cable - makes it rather exciting when you try to stop by dropping into reverse - until you realise there is a problem you keep adding throttle to try and slow down more and instead go faster!

I assume you can see the gear cable move at the engine end when you engage F/N/R on the throttle.

Next thing would be to pop the cable off at the engine end and manually move the control at that end and see if you can feel/hear it engaging. Then carefully check with the engine running and see if you can see the prop turning ** if doing this afloat make sure you have the kill cord connected to the person hanging over the back ** a helper would be useful.

If all is well then cable probably just needs adjusting. IIRC mine is put engine in neutral. Put lever in neutral, and adjust length until it fits neatly on the end.

[pauly 237]

thankyou for the help ,will try this at weekend when i have time, will let you know how i get on thanks boys

[spartacus]

Had this happen to me recently. Luckily, I was already in the harbour so it didn't happen at sea. It went forward, but it wouldn't go into reverse. Turns out the gear shift cable had detached at the outboard end. There's normally a clear nylon washer that fits over the cable connection on the engine, followed by a stainless steel R-pin to secure it in place. It didn't have a washer when I installed it (although the throttle did), so thought it would be okay with just the R-pin. Shows that it can fail if enough force is applied without the washer in place. Lesson learnt!

[pauly 237]

hi guys,was at boat this morning, started engine and guess what? she went into forward gear no problem. Took off the engine hood and all was ok how wierd was that? anyway made an ajustment on cable just to be sure.