[cheddarthief]

2005 Ranger 621VS with Evinrude 225hp

I had my boat in the shop for some maintenance and was just about to take it to Lake Erie this Sunday. On a gut feeling, I decided to run it on a smaller inland lake on Saturday to make sure all is good. Backed the boat off the trailer and when I went to put it in forward to dock it so I could park the truck, the boat revved up and went in reverse. Odd. So I put it in neutral and again tried forward. This time, no problem. Docked, parked the truck, loaded the crew, then proceeded to buzz the lake for a solid hour and half. No issues. Bring it back to the dock and this time when I reversed the boat to line it up, no matter what I did the boat would only go in reverse. When the boat was in neutral, the motor was running lightly but in reverse. When I would push the throttle forward, still....reverse. And that is no matter how far I pushed it.

So I know that the throttle and shifter cable in the controls are separate from each other. I'm guessing that the shifter cable came loose at either the controls or the motor. That is unless the newer shifters are all electronic. Admittedly, I'm not very versed in newer, large motors. I plan to drop it at the shop this afternoon to get checked but I'm just wondering if it's something simpler than I'm thinking. I hope it's not a major issue.

Thoughts?

 

[James30]

Had a similar issue a few years ago with my mercury. I dropped the lower unit to change the impeller and put it back together but didn't have the rod engaged properly and it would only go in reverse. Got home, dropped lower again and put it back together correctly and it was fixed.

 

[cheddarthief]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll share that with my mechanic who did check the impeller during the last shop visit.

However, one question. Did your motor only have reverse from the beginning? Because I had forward for a while then couldn't get it back into forward or neutral. If yours was from the beginning and never had anything but reverse, that's a little different than my problem. Or is it?

 

[fastwater]

Hopefully Tech will just find an external shift cable clamp/linkage nut he left loose or something simple as such.
Very possibly a shift shaft out of adjustment since the lower unit was just removed. AFAIK this adjustment is very critical and has an adjustment tolerance of within 1/32" of spec. If this is the problem, the lower unit will have to be removed again to set the proper shift shaft length.
Sure your Tech will have it fixed in no time.

 

[cheddarthief]

Thanks. Fingers crossed.

 

[Flathead76]

Sounds like your shift shaft is out of adjustment. It's a simple fix but should have been caught before they told you that your boat was ready.

 

[dwmikemx]

If in fact your mechanic didn't get your shift shaft aligned correctly and didn't check his work before you picked up your boat.
Please post the name of the shop that worked on your motor. So I will know to NEVER EVER to take anything of mine there.

Good luck!

 

[cheddarthief]

Actually,
They did. It wasn't the throttle at all. It was the shifter cable that broke. They took off the hood of the boat and were able to shift it manually at the shift shaft. When they disconnected the shifter cable and pushed it and pulled it, there was no movement at the controls. The cable had broke off somewhere between th controls and shifter.

To be safe, had them switch out the throttle control while they had it all torn apart.

And this is why I NEVER divulge a shop until I'm sure of the issue. I don't want to ruin a reputation until I've verified. That's said, stay away from IMO Vic's Ranger in Kent. They are very good with a new boat dale but I've had some real problems with the service and the customer response. Again, just my experience. Others may have been better but I've taken my business elsewhere.

If in fact your mechanic didn't get your shift shaft aligned correctly and didn't check his work before you picked up your boat.
Please post the name of the shop that worked on your motor. So I will know to NEVER EVER to take anything of mine there.

Good luck!

ually

 

[bountyhunter]

and I,ve gone to VIC<S for over ten years never ever a problem matter fact they,ve been great.