DF140 hard to get into reverse, gears rattle,not engaging

[Don Barkey]

Has anyone had a problem with a DF 140 or any other model of Suzuki four stroke outboard not going into reverse? Gears just rattle, throttle cable not allowing gears to engage? Appreciate anybody's input on your similar experience and what was done about it?

[ChrigelKarrer]

If also the gear falls out when acellerating, then it most likely a worn dog.
To fix that you need to overhaul the lower unit, not a easy and cheap task.
To avoid unnecessary repairs, check first for worn/ bad aligned cables and the slider under the cowling.
Chris

[Solarman]

don.

If you haven't changed/adjusted the cable yet, you have had lower unit off? Often the adjustment at the connector at the connecting rod is the culprit. Check that adjustment before adjusting shift cables.

Good luck.

[Lunchmoney]

You asked me in another post if I had run into your problem before... well sort of. If you've noticed it's physically hard to put into forward and / or reverse, it's likely the shifter bushing. Mine was stove up and it was really difficult to move the throttle the first few inches forward or reverse. Dropped the lower unit and it was still very hard to move the throttle. Disconnected the shift cable at the linkage on the engine and the throttle moved easily. This told me it wasn't the lower unit or the cable. I confirmed this by manually turning the shifter shaft on the lower unit while I had it off and it went into forward and reverse easily (had to turn the prop a bit). With the cable disconnected and the LU off, I couldn't hardly move the shift linkage by hand, it should have rotated easily. There's a plastic bushing in there that had become 1 with the housing. Removed it, cleaned it up with sandpaper, installed new bushing with fresh grease and it shifts easily into forward and reverse from the throttle now. If your throttle is difficult to move the first few inches going into forward or reverse, this could be part of your problem. The cable could be stretched from the strain put on it to get her into gear, to the point it's not fully moving the linkage enough to engage. This would be better than the clutch dog. Pretty easy to determine and fix if that's what it is. Can't help you if it's in the LU.

[Oski946]

shifter bushing stuck gears wont engage

Hi I have the exact same problem. How did you get to that bushing? My mechanic says he has to take off the whole block. $800 per side; yikes! Any tricks would be appreciated.

I have a 2003 DT 115 (twins) and the gears wont engage forward or reverse. With the lower unit off the gears do engage. With the cable off, the shifter is very stiff and not fully rotating the shifter.

any comments appreciated
SR