Noise from the gear case question

[Fishinfortuna]

This last trip out I noticed that after trolling for approximately 1-hour and while positioning the boat on some fish (in forward gear, but idle speed) it sounded as if I was in between neutral and forward. I know I was in gear, I even increase speed a couple of times just to make sure. I'm familar with outboards but Yamahas are new to me and this is this first time I have trolled with these engines for this long.

Is this something I should be concerned with or is this normal?

 

[Ranger Tim]

Which motor? My F150 Is quiet as a mouse blowing bubbles in a feather bed EXCEPT when shifting. Sounds like you need your cables adjusted. This could hold the potential for big problems soon. Have someone knowledgeable ride with you and hear it immediately. There is sometimes a faint high-pitched squeal that is the noisy o-ring seal around the drive shaft (I'm sure there are threads on this).

Most Yammies are noisy when shifting. I try to minimize the grinding noise by being very positive when moving the shifter. Newbies often move it too slowly. If yours is constantly grinding (gears not meshing together) and you are shifting with confidence you should get it adjusted immediately. Is this a dual station? Rigged at the factory or dealer?

 

[DaleH]

Agreed, you shouldn't hear anything. And whenever shifting, be positve and direct in the shift lever movements. Control cables can stretch so it is not uncommon to have to adjust them after some period of use. I'd get it checked pront, rounding off the gears can be a good $1200-$1500 repait bill :shock: !

 

[TopShot25]

Fortuna, just out of curiosity, did you recently have a water pump done? From what I understand you can get some kind of clanking noise at low RPM’s if you don’t seat the impeller right.

Thought I would throw that out just in case.

 

[CCparker]

Thats an interesting point that top shot makes I just had my water pump replaced and now I am getting this occasionally when shifting. How would the water pump impact this, as it seems to be gear related?

 

[johnsw]

Sounds like an adjustment might be needed. If this started only after the water pump was serviced and is more so in either forward or reverse, it's possible the shift spline on the lower unit might have been off a tooth or 2 when the lower unit was put back on from where it was originally. On the newer Yamaha's, the shift rod is a 2-piece design that slips together at the lower unit using a toothed spline and coupler. This eliminates having to disconnect the linkage at the engine to drop the lower unit. There's a spline on the shift rod coming out of the lower unit that couples to a receiver on the rod section in the middle unit. If the spline on the lower unit wasn't in center neutral when the lower unit was reinstalled, then the shift angles could be off. Depending on how far it's out, you might be able to compensate by adjusting the shift cable. If it cannot be tweaked at the cable, then the lower unit will have to come off and the shift rod better centered before reassembly.

John S.