Reverse slipping? I think I answered my question.

[msmith10]

I've never had to use Mr. Moyer's rebuild manual before, but a quick look at the reversing gear section tells me I need to adjust the reverse band. My compliments to Mr. Moyer-- this is a very good manual. Any caveats before I tighten the band a little?

[Don Moyer]

Assuming that you have a generous neutral zone, one clockwise turn (to tighten it) on the 3/4" nut should take care of your problem. I would not touch forward, since it seems to be OK at this point.

Don

[msmith10]

Reverse fixed

The reverse gear is now fixed. It took about 1-1/2 turns. It surprised me how simple this job was. I don't have a generous neutral zone, but I didn't before, either, and it's no worse, or perhaps a little better than before. The only thing I was unsure of was how much to tighten the bolt. I finally figured that if I could turn the prop shaft freely by hand while in neutral, and not turn it by hand in reverse, that was probably about right, so that's where I left it. I bought this boat 5 years ago and in retrospect, I'm now sure that reverse has always slipped some, just not as bad as this year. I now have much more power in reverse than I ever had. I don't need to look like a rookie pulling into my slip anymore-- the engine is now capable of stopping me at more than 1/2 knot.

[Don Moyer]

Good for you!

Don

[Unregistered]

Similar Problem..I think

I have what might be a similar problem but not sure? I have a 1981 Cat 30 and the A4 runs great except reverse does not seem to give me the full amount of horse power I believe it is capable of producing? I shift to reverse and rev up which is enough to get the boat moving back but it is not very strong. For a 30hp engine with a two blade I should get more power in reverse I believe. Will tightening the 3/4" nut also help with this problem? I hope this question makes sense. Thank you for any help.

[Unregistered]

Unregistered,

Do you hold your shifting lever with pressure back against its max travel, while your vessel is reversing?

Don points out that this is necessary. Do a search on "reverse" (without the quotes) and look at the "Reverse Mode" thread of Charles Jordan on 5-23-2006 for Don's brief explanation.

Hazelnut

[Don Moyer]

Tightening up a bit on the reversing brake band adjusting nut will only help your reverse function if you're currently running out of cable travel in the reverse direction. If you are running out of rearward travel, tightening the reverse adjustment will restore your ability to engage reverse prior to your shifting lever hitting the mechanical stop in the cable system.

Remember that there is no detent in reverse. Remember also that there is a slight gear reduction built into the reversing pinion gears, which (together with the fact that props are very inefficient in reverse) can give the feeling of anemic performance in reverse compared to forward.

Don