Reverse gear seems to work, but actually doesn't!

[indigo]

Indigo Prop for Sure

That is indeed an indigo prop, no question about it. And it is 10” in diameter.

You should try taking the shift linkage loose from the engine and see if the lever on the engine will go farther in the reverse direction with things disconnected. It may be a simple matter of getting your cable and linkage adjusted properly.

You also need to give the engine lots of RPM in reverse as there is a 1.3:1 speed reduction in reverse.

Tom

[julienrobi3]

Hello Tom,
Thank you for your reply.
I have already did what you said. Please feel free to read the update I posted today at 12:48 PM. Thank you

[indigo]

Sorry that I mis-interpreted your video. I saw linkage still attached to the engine shift lever and assumed everything was still hooked up. Upon further inspection of the video, I see a bracket of some sort flopping around as you shift so I assume you made the disconnect at the cockpit shift lever. My bad!

Tom

[Surcouf]

Hello everyone!
So I got to do some tests in order to investigate further my motor problem, and additionnal help from you guys would be really helpful!

So I basically did two things:
1. Test the shaft RPM with a speed gun as mentionned by Surcouf.
2. Look inside the gear box for anything weird.

I am really not an expert on transmission but:
- it seems that your "fingers" correctly "climb" on the collar where they are supposed to go when you are in "forward" (the "forward latch" ). When you put your transmission lever on "forward", these fingers have to "climb" and stay there without you needing to hold the lever forward. My english s*** so go listen to the Boss on you tube. He is very very clearly how this system works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Qc0HZ2juA

And just to make sure, as already noted: you need to manually hold the handle / lever n the cokpit full reverse so that the shaft turns backward. If you put it back and release it, it will come back to neutral by itself (could that explain the 0 RPM?)

good luck

[sastanley]

Julien...you are pushing against the spring in the front of the case when going into reverse...this is why you need to 'lean' on the lever to keep it in reverse. As your video showed, the little fingers lock all the clutches in FWD with the 'detent'. But in reverse, there is no positive engagement, you must keep pressure on the shift lever to keep the parts engaged...and it should literally scream at you, and as Tom noted, with a reduction, you need more RPM in reverse for the same prop speed as compared to FWD. I cruise about 1,900-2,000 RPM in FWD with my Indigo prop, but in reverse, she's spinning 2,500 RPM..be careful..once you figure it out, the next thing you gotta do is hold the tiller/wheel because it will fly out of your hands while you are busy with the shift lever. I have a tiller, so I usually sit and hold the tiller with one hand, or straddle it facing backwards, and then sit in the cockpit so I can control the engine with the other hand, to keep a little pressure on the shift lever..when it starts to slip the RPMs will really go and the 'screaming' will studdenly stop..similar to a clutch in a car. If I remember how it works, the mechanicals make the sun/planetary gears inside there change direction, which makes the prop shaft reverse, hence the 'screaming' sound..Also, the drive gear system shares the engine oil for lube..

One last warning..until I saw your video, your post sounded like you'd run the engine on the hard - The rubber cutlass bearing needs seawater lubrication, so be sure not to run it on the hard, unless you can feed the engine cooling water, AND the cutlass bearing inside the prop strut with water. It did not look to me like anything was out of normal ops in there, so I think it is probably just a little education and practice once you are back in the water to figure it out.

Good luck. I like my Indigo prop...the idea of the smaller diameter allows the engine RPMs to be higher and not lug the motor so much. The redline is like 3,500 RPM, so at 1,700 with a big prop she is working hard...the Indigo helps with this. Agree with Joe_db..due to small size, the only downside is any growth degrades performance..that just means I have to clean/dive the prop/bottom more often or short haul in the middle of the season..which makes the boat happier anyway.

I just hauled today. I did not get a good picture pre-scrape/power wash, but I was still able to motor to the travel lift, but there was noticeable degradation in performance..still totally maneuverable and I even backed all the way down the fairway to the travel lift at about 1,900 RPM in reverse, against the wind.

[Mo]

I don't see the lock ring on the reverse adjustment nut...without it adjustment may move. Thoughts guys?

[ndutton]

I don't see the lock ring on the reverse adjustment nut...without it adjustment may move. Thoughts guys?

I see it, not easily but it's there, the original design spring clip.