Horrible first launch !!!!!

[ron12]

went to spectacle lake over the weekend for the family fishin derby put the fiberform in the water and of course the motor wouldn't go in to forward all it would do is grind but whent in to reverse no problem. So i guess i need to either change the gears in the lower or swap lowers. anyone have any ideas?

[ChuckB]

Ron :
Which motor were you using? It may just be an adjustment problem

[slo-mo]

Ron-

We need more information to help diagnose your problem.

What motor? Year?
Electric shift or manual?
Did you try to put into gear without the cable connected to eliminate an adjustment issue?
Did it work in the test tank before hitting the lake?
When you replaced the impeller, was the linkage reinstalled correctly?
Does it shift freely without the motor running?
Was the engine idling at the factory recommended RPM?
Gear lube?
Engine tilted?
Any neutral safety switches not working?

[ron12]

chuck & greg it was the 60hp rude mod#60073d. it worked just fine before we left new lower oil and everything. ran fine when i put it in the water but as soon as it has a load on it it will just grind it's an electra shift reverse worked fine had a HELL of o time gettin her back on the trailer ended up swimmin lol

[John Berg]

front wheel drive concept

Just hang it on the bow. John

[slo-mo]

Hydro-Electric shift gone wrong

Ron-

Your Evinrude has Hydro-Electric shift that was apparently designed by the devil, with the obvious intention of giving it's Dealer Service Departments job security. There are a million things that could go wrong, so don't spend much time/money chasing the problem.

Your best bet to limp one home is to make sure that you have manual shift so you can clunk it into gear with a pry bar, hammer, or your size 10 boot if need be.

Since you don't have that option today, your potentially easy fix for the grinding symptom you described is to make sure that the gear lube that you used is low viscosity OMC Type C. The system of solenoids and Hydraulic pump in the lower end is very sensitive to oil type. Usually a guy will use 90w or some other thick oil, from a manual shift-which will keep the plunger/clutches from engaging properly.

If using the correct OMC lube doesn't fix your problem....run! Keep in mind that I despise old outboards for the reasons you cited in your original post, came home on a rope 1/2 the time.

Maybe a more cool headed soul has some better insight?

Or you could follow John's innovative reverse dock buster approach:Bigdriving1:

Here is the mind blowing parts schematic-

yes the OMC electric shift are very sensitive to gear oils & it needs to be dielectric type oil, ordinary gear oils can cause the solenoids to short out, sadly this can cause issues and you may need a tear down.if you didnt use the correct gear oil when you did the oil change..certainly try draining ALL the oil and use OMC gear oil for electric shift

[strobee]

It is a 1970 Evinrude 60HP

[ron12]

have a couple quarts still of the type c omc oil put fresh oil in before we left and drained it again while there and put more fresh oil in still the same problem.damn electra shifts lol. this is how we ended up fishing on this trip lol

[ChuckB]

Ron:
Your forward gears are shot. The fail safe mode for that vintage if the electric solenoids fail is to be stuck in "get home mode" forward. Your solenoids are working, leaving only the worn gears unable to turn the prop under load. These are difficult lowers to repair. I have one, but it is mated to a good running 85hp 4 cylinder OMC.
ChuckB

[ron12]

i have that 85 hp johnson that doesn't run maybe i can just swap lowers they look identical the 85 is only a couple years older.it's mod #85esl69 and the rude is 60073d

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Electric shift!

I worked on the sterndrive version (400 and 800) of this electric shift at an OMC school many years ago. I think it was designed by Rube Goldberg!
So many moving parts! Ridiculous!

Good luck. Maybe there is a manual shift lower you can stick on there?

[slo-mo]

Hey Ron,

What's happening with your ride?

[ron12]

got the little rude fixed but not enough power.was cleanin out grandpas shop last weekend and found a merc 1150 tower of power got on the fiberform just have to get a bigger battery and then gonna run her around the river or lake.

[slo-mo]

Hey Ron,

Is that Merc tower pushing you around yet?