saab gearbox

[kieronriley]

Hi all my friends saab gearbox has locked up in forward gear and will with a lot of force come out into neutral but will not go in reverse the engine will start in gear and run ok in forward gear has anyone any idea how he may be able to put this right i did tell him you are the smartest bunch on the block thanks Kieron(martin)

 

[DaveW]

Are you sure that the problem is with the gearbox - its more likely to be the cable linkage from the morse control lever.
I'd check that out first.

 

[HenryB]

May be a silly question but are you sure that it is a SAAB and not a SABB which is a Norwegian boat engine and, on the ones that I have seen, have no reverse gear box instead the prop pitch is changed to give reverse thrust. They have a neutral control which is very hard to shift because it is normally never used (you set the prop pitch to zero instead).

 

[bluedragon]

Let's assume it is a Sabb (as I've never heard of the Saab marine engine)...some were fitted with conventional gearboxes, although the VP prop is the most common. I guess the guy in question is not new to this engine? The reason I ask is that as the last respondent mentioned, there is a second control lever on the single pot Sabbs which operates the clutch...it's not a gear lever. Most people just keep it engaged all the time. Can you clarify a little more please?

 

[MoodySabre]

My son has a Sabb on his Contessa. Has two levers - a small throttle lever and a longer gearshift. Seems there are various versions. Sounds more like a cable/lever problem than a gearbox problem if it runs OK in forward gear.

 

[bryantee]

If it is a single pot Sabb.There were two types, one with feathering prop and one with forward and reverse.this has two lever control one small for revs and one large for forward and reverse.This works by moving cone clutches forward and backwards.The propeller thrust gives the load to drive the cones together. the prop shaft moves forward and back .about 1Inch total movement.
If the shaft is bent this can cause the problem above.also forgeting to grease the nipple at the end of the gearbox can cause the shaft to seize.A crow bar between the flange and gear box will see if the shaft is free.also beware if fitting a shaft anode not to obstruct movement of the shaft.