MERRY XMAS TO ALL & A HAPPY SAFE NEW YEAR -

Went out fishing at The Entrance last night. Tide was very low and very shallow water....

My outboard is a Evinrude 175 HP V6 (80's), model number 200649S, Took off to near the bridge from the boat ramp (about 500 metres). Put the throttle leaver into reverse, but the boat didn't seem to move. It felt like it was in neutral but i could feel the gears changing. Tried a few times from reverse to neutral and then forward a few times but still no good.

Ant fished for a few hours and we caught about 20 flatties and 5 bream....Good size flatties too around ranging from 40 - 50cm. Bream were just legal with the biggest at 27cm. We were actually targeting whiting with love worms, prawns & chicken, but we got zilch.

Anyway this morning i got out to clean the boat and check on the outboard.

Checked under the cowling and the gear levers seemed to be working ok. Checked the propeller when in reverse and it would spin freely with a slight clunk noise inside the lower unit. In forward gear it locks up. Checked the oil and found the oil was like milk. So it looks like water is getting in there from somewhere.
Started the outboard and when i put it into reverse the propeller would spin and as i revved it it would go faster.

So my questions are:

If the reverse gear is not working, why does the propeller still spins as you rev it?
Is it different under load in the water?
What could be the cause of the water in the lower unit & could this be the main cause of the issue i am having?

Thanks, Majed.

Hey Majed, my old johno had a join for the gear linkage inside the water pick-up screen on the lower leg, if yours is the same remove it and check it is pushing far enough to go into reverse gear, could possibly be the cable has stretched. The water entry into your leg could be from a few places-mine had a problem with the prop shaft seals....JG would be the one to fill in the gaps.

Which way is prop spining ??

Gearbox's on outboards dont have a clutch gear selection is direct engage prop will spin irrellevant if gearbox is engaged or in neutral as revs increase on driveshaft



Seal needs replacing prob caught fishing line behind prop unless it's the top seal

Wouldn't be using boat till you get it sorted out if you're lucky it's a linkage prob

When i put the gear into reverse, u can turn the propeller clockwise but it locks into position anti clockwise. This makes sense as the propeller spins anti clockwise when in reverse. When the gear is in forward you can't spin it either way. In neutral obviously it spins both ways freely.

I also found the gear oil drainage plug didn't have the rubber or plastic seal, whereas the top breather plug did. I think a good place to start is with a new seal for this plug and see how it goes. The propeller and its surroundings look pretty good from the outside and no oil residue in the vicinity.

Midget get it serviced
A new 2nd hand box for your motor is $2,500

Pull the prop and check for fishing line around the prop seal, remove any you find without damaging the seal.

Drain the box refill with new oil & replace both washers on the plugs.

Sometimes the old washers stick in the housing so check again because it's hard to believe that anyone would leave one out.

Disconnect the shift cable at the motor & try selecting the gears by hand, if they're ok reconnect and adjust the shift cable.

Water test and keep an eye on the gearbox oil from time to time.

The best advice so far is put it into the shop & get it fixed but if you want to do it yourself I have scanned files here straight from the OMC manual I can send to you (30MBs).

Don't listen to googleboy I can tell from his post he's never done an outboard gearbox before.

:PFirst hand advice fairy...yours seemed suprisingly similar- maybe best to not follow yours either

I didn't mean you Storms I meant the other googleboy.

Really mate Jumpy gave the best advice possible, get it fixed by a pro who will replace all the seals, pressure test it and do the water pump while it's off.

BTW Majed if you have drained the gearbox get some oil back into if you leave it & rust sets in then it will cost you a lot more.
You put up the serial # not the model #, judging by the colour scheme it's a 1988 same as mine.

Storms why you no Rissen ??

Keep telling ewe guys Fed is a GOOSE but nobluddy believe me

What if it's the top seal Shinny Head ??????????????

Would you suggest laying a golden egg on it & hope it seals itself

Only on the planet called JumpyWorld. HaHaHaha!

Oh i C

So a simple bootz from the gooses bum isn't good enough to do pressure test you'd rather see midget risk doing more damage

Just so ewe can say

I know seatow's no majed ask me ask me

More mindless jibberjabber, back to your keyboard GoogleBoy


Both forward & reverse gears are in constant mesh and spinning freely on the prop shaft, one will have slightly greater friction and can turn the shaft. Completely normal.


Yes, water pressure will stop it spinning.


As Storms said above the water will come in from a leaky seal or washer and it's very important to fix it. Secondary is the non selection of reverse gear which will more than likely be cable adjustment.

If you don't want to spend the bucks then there's nothing wrong with refilling with oil & adjusting the shift cable just so long as you keep an eye on the gearbox oil for signs of water.

Show us your money Fed

We all know you've got it buried somewhere
poly told us so

Really cant see the logic of how you think DIY is not allways the answer esp if you dont know what you're doing

By the time you've jerried what's going on a mech has allready got the job done not to mention him having the tools to do the job not to mention all the running around chewing up petrol etc that you dont have to do.

Quite capable of doing all my serving but i just dont bother to busy trying to figure out where ewe buried the loot
Maybe just like ewe I just dont get it

I completely agree with getting an outboard guy to do the job.

If I wanted to change my gearbox oil I'd have to drive out to Hunts, buy oil with a pump bottle, 1 extra bottle of oil, 2 plug washers, get dirty & get rid of the old oil.

The alternative... Ring the guy and he comes out & does it in no time.

The trouble is my 'guy' is/has retired which is a real pain in the arse for me.

J0004132
200649S

Check for a welsh plug on the top of the block or the nameplate on the transom bracket for a model #, the ones you put up don't compute.
Click to view attachment
BTW, what does it go like and how does it steer, OK?

It's pre-1980 mate that's why. 1976 Model with a 1988 paint job by the look of it.

Humble apolagies FED, this time of year my fuel system gets blocked and I start spitting like a baccy chewing Llama.