4HP Yamaha kicker motor - hard to shift

[old school]

Hi all!

I figured out what was going on with the 75HP Force and now I have to ask a question about my kicker motor. It is a Yamaha, 1990, 4HP in good shape. Only repair I have done on it was last summer - was not showing a strong stream out of the pee hole and it was hot so I took it apart, cleaned out a ton of sand and small shells (from previous owner running into sand bars), replaced a couple gaskets and a water pump and ran real well, strong pee and water just luke warm.

It has F-N-R shifting (small lever on side of hood) - there is a lubricating fitting for the steering swivel shaft and the shifter arm (where it resides under the power head) - I have greased these but the motor shifts really hard - I do not think it is a lower unit problem - I think it is in the linkage

QUESTION - when I took it apart and reassembled the lower unit (to get to the water pump) you have to separate the 2 piece rod/shifter linkage - could I have not put the clamp back in the right position and now it is binding slightly??

Appreciate if anyone has had this problem - I am thinking of opening the side hole and unscrewing the linkage to see if it was under too much tension in the N position

 

[Seajet]

Yup, known problem with these engines.

Not to do with your re-assembly.

I had one ( still have it as a spare, good engine ) and had problems with the gearshift, eventually I got fed up with removing, sanding & greasing the shift then having it go stiff again fairly quickly.

Drilled a hole in the mounting to allow occasional oiling of the gearshift handle shaft; problem solved.

Let me know if you'd like a photo, wouldn't be any trouble as the engine is in the garage.

 

[VicS]

As above.

It is with little doubt the shaft of the shift lever becoming tight . #25 in THIS DIAGRAM

Needs sorting before you break it off. ... It happens!

It's a problem with a number of makes

Evinrude/Johnsons have a grease nipple. It maye be possible to fit one on the Yammaha , otherwise Seajet's suggesion to provide an oiling hole sounds like a good one, provided you oil it regularly.

 

[old school]

THANK YOU - I will drill a hole as

there are no grease nipples that would apply grease to the horizontal lever rod

If I am careful can the rod be left in when I drill or will the drill pieces/particals foul the rod?



PS - here's a picture of our boat - it's not a pretty piece of tin but it floats

 

[Seajet]

Yes, if you're careful, drill with the shift in situ'; it's a fairly serious pain removing it.

I hope the photo' makes some sense, ( having trouble with photobucket sizing for some reason ) I placed a bit of tape with an arrow indicating the oil hole.

 

[old school]

Excellent - thank you

willing be drilling later today!

 

[Seajet]

Sorry about the tiny photo', still struggling with photobucket; used to work fine...anyway glad you were able to make sense of it.