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Greetings –
I have a new-to-me 1999 Suzuki DT85 on a 17 ft Key Largo that has probably spent its life in/near salt-water. It runs fine and is in good shape, and looks like it may be a keeper for quite awhile.
However, shifting into reverse seems to be very hard (compared to shifting into neutral or forward), almost as if it’s binding somewhere. I disconnected the shift cable and it is smooth and even throughout the full range of the console shift-lever, so that’s not the issue. But with the shift cable disconnected, I tried to move the shifter on the engine and it was very hard, leading me to believe the problem is somewhere in either the shift-shaft itself or in the lower unit/gearbox.
This is while running (idling), and it's a single-lever shifter (says 'Suzuki' on the shift-pedestal). From neutral to forward (and back again), shifting is smooth and positive and feels similar to the pressure when moving the lever thru the throttle range. It's when going into/out of reverse that it takes a lot more pressure to get it to shift, to the point that I sometimes 'overshoot' when going into reverse and end up revving the throttle. Same when coming out of reverse.
The linkage at the cable-ends in the engine looks to be plastic, and I'm wondering if I may end up breaking it from the heavy force. And I have changed the oil, looks clean with no shiny filings or milky-colored.
I dug thru some posts here and also looked in the Seloc and Suzuki repair manuals as well as the Suzuki parts manual, but haven’t found anything that would help diagnose any further. I’ve rebuilt cars and such in the past, so I know which end of a wrench is which, but have never broken open the bottom-end of an outboard.
I am mindful of its probable salty history and all that it might entail, but I am remaining optimistic. I’d appreciate any guidance (or hand-holding) as to where to go next with this. Is it something that can popped open fairly easy to check or make adjustments, clearances, etc, or do I need to get ready for major surgery? Everything I’ve seen so far indicates that there are some adjustments (clutches maybe?) that might help ease the hard-shifting, but haven’t found anything that directly points to where to start.
I should add that i don't know if this is a new problem or has been coming on slowly, as I just got the boat and didn't notice any difficulty during trials (nor did the previous owner volunteer anything). Just seems that after the initial "WHOO-HOOO!" started to wear off, I noticed it.
Thanks in advance.
I have a new-to-me 1999 Suzuki DT85 on a 17 ft Key Largo that has probably spent its life in/near salt-water. It runs fine and is in good shape, and looks like it may be a keeper for quite awhile.
However, shifting into reverse seems to be very hard (compared to shifting into neutral or forward), almost as if it’s binding somewhere. I disconnected the shift cable and it is smooth and even throughout the full range of the console shift-lever, so that’s not the issue. But with the shift cable disconnected, I tried to move the shifter on the engine and it was very hard, leading me to believe the problem is somewhere in either the shift-shaft itself or in the lower unit/gearbox.
This is while running (idling), and it's a single-lever shifter (says 'Suzuki' on the shift-pedestal). From neutral to forward (and back again), shifting is smooth and positive and feels similar to the pressure when moving the lever thru the throttle range. It's when going into/out of reverse that it takes a lot more pressure to get it to shift, to the point that I sometimes 'overshoot' when going into reverse and end up revving the throttle. Same when coming out of reverse.
The linkage at the cable-ends in the engine looks to be plastic, and I'm wondering if I may end up breaking it from the heavy force. And I have changed the oil, looks clean with no shiny filings or milky-colored.
I dug thru some posts here and also looked in the Seloc and Suzuki repair manuals as well as the Suzuki parts manual, but haven’t found anything that would help diagnose any further. I’ve rebuilt cars and such in the past, so I know which end of a wrench is which, but have never broken open the bottom-end of an outboard.
I am mindful of its probable salty history and all that it might entail, but I am remaining optimistic. I’d appreciate any guidance (or hand-holding) as to where to go next with this. Is it something that can popped open fairly easy to check or make adjustments, clearances, etc, or do I need to get ready for major surgery? Everything I’ve seen so far indicates that there are some adjustments (clutches maybe?) that might help ease the hard-shifting, but haven’t found anything that directly points to where to start.
I should add that i don't know if this is a new problem or has been coming on slowly, as I just got the boat and didn't notice any difficulty during trials (nor did the previous owner volunteer anything). Just seems that after the initial "WHOO-HOOO!" started to wear off, I noticed it.
Thanks in advance.