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I have a 76' 115 johnson on my 74 19' outrage. Last time out the engine started up fine and ran fine, but it won't go into gear. I opened up the engine cover and checked all the connections to the throttle and it all looks fine to me. Any thoughts on what the problem could be?

I was thinking about repowering soon anyways so should I just start looking for a new engine or could it be something small and cheap to fix? Thanks for any advice.

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first is to get another set of eyes. Open up the motor, and have someone move the throttle in and out of gear, make sure the linkage is hooked up and not loose. Have someone move it back and forth... unless of course you've done that already!

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Done that already,I should have mentioned that the first time. The linkage seems to be good, the levers move when put into forward and reverse just fine.

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ok... just checking. Does it grind at all? does it die out or just idle along like nothing had changed?

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It just idles along, no rattling, no nothing, I can rev it up in neutral but thats it.

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This may sound stupid but I came across someone stuck in the channel one day last year with the same symtoms. It shifted fine in foward and neutral but nothing happened and there was no noise. We looked at the linkage and all looked fine. Then I looked at his lower unit and said, Im not sure but I think your prop is missing! He shut it off and tilted it up and sure enough his prop was missing. I hope that's all that is wrong with yours. Tom from Scituate Mass.

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Not sure about your specific engine, but a lot of times on these older engines, you can actually see the shift rod if you look. Start at the top front edge of the lower unit and go up a few inches to the bottom of the mid-section, just under the steering arm/swivel bracket mount, and you should be able to see the shift rod running vertically up from the gear case to the power head. It's about 1/4" in diameter stainless rod.

If you can, use a black sharpie to make a mark on the shift rod and then have someone move the shift from F to R and back to see if you can see it moving. If it doesn't move, there's most likely an issue with the linkage on the side of the power head. If it's moving, the issue may be in the gearcase.

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I just checked your personal page and I see your Whaler all the time in Scituate. That is one nice original 19 Outrage, I had one just like it.

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tom- thanks for the compliment, maybe ill see you around the harbor next summer, and yes, my props still there!

Ill check the shift rod once it stops raining and I can pull my boat out of where its tucked away right now. thanks for the advice

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Yup shift shaft would be my guess to.

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What I don't understand is why you cannot advance the throttle when it is supposedly in gear.

You should be able to advance the throttle wether it is in neutral, forward, or reverse....... (you may need to hold something in to advance the throttle when it is in neutral depending on the type of control box)

Something seems to be wrong with the cables or control box.....

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Joe, i guess i described it wrong, but I can advance the throttle when its in forward or reverse too, all it does it rev up at that point and doesnt engage.

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Check your throttle linkage and shift rod / shaft and make sure they're operating properly. Dave nailed it when he said to check a d see if the shaft is moving into the lower unit with someone moving the throttle handle. You can do this without running the motor.

If the shaft is indeed moving up and down then I would be suspicious of your lower unit.

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I had an older 75 HP Evindrude. One time in the bay with that engine we started going slower and slower even through the engine was running fine and was in gear. The reason was simple, the hub in the prop had become worn, the shaft was spinning inside the prop. Fortunately we had a spre prop so we just used the trolling motor to get to a shallow area (not difficult in Texas bays) where I delicately changed it out.

So, my dumb question is: have you checked the prop?

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I checked the prop, doesn't seem to be any problems there, ill check the drive shaft this weekend and let you guys know what I see, thanks for the input!

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Some engines have a coupling between the upper and lower portion of the shift rod. To check the coupling you need to drop the lower unit (as if you were going to change the impeller).

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I swapped out an old Morse MT-2 for a MT-3 this summer and last week one of the clasps inside the MT-3 that holds the red jacketed cables came loose. Luckily an easy fix since I was miles from anywhere at the time on a Sunday.

You may want to check the connections inside the controller on the helm. As Joe mentioned.

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Start with checking the shift cable where it attached to the throttle.

At the engine, move the throttle and make sure the cable moves the linkage in the motor.

If all is ok, watch the top of the shift rod in front and below the head.

Remove the lower unit and move the shifter and see if the shit rod is turning.

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Disconnect the cables and shift the engine manually at the engine. If it won't shift there, you know the problem is in the lower unit. If it will shift there, then the problem is in the cables or the control box.