Yamaha 5hp outboard gear repair?

[CatNewBee]

Hi there,

I have a problem to shift gear on my outboard, clutch gets very stiff, cannot switch between forward / neutral / reverse without brute force.

Any idea how to fix this easily?

Thank you very much!

[Nicholson58]

Start at the top, look for linkage issues. If this doesn’t fix it you probably need to pull the lower unit and figure out what is bound up. Have you inspected the lubrication in the lower unit? It should look like it just came from the bottle. If it is white, creamy, rusty, then your problem is likely there. Drain the fluid into a glass container so you can examine settling. I add a solvent. That helps water and solids disengage from the oil.

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Start at the top, look for linkage issues. If this doesn’t fix it you probably need to pull the lower unit and figure out what is bound up. Have you inspected the lubrication in the lower unit? It should look like it just came from the bottle. If it is white, creamy, rusty, then your problem is likely there. Drain the fluid into a glass container so you can examine settling. I add a solvent. That helps water and solids disengage from the oil.

What do you mean with upper and lower unit? The drive shaft? It seems to be the wheel of the gear clutch. Do I have to disassemble the whole engine or is there a separation between gearbox and motor?

Unfortunately I do not have a service manual for the Yamaha, it was not in the documentation of my vessel. (pre-owned)

[Nicholson58]

I suggest you get a manual or go on line to find one. Go to YouTube and search for “how to”

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

What do you mean with upper and lower unit? The drive shaft? It seems to be the wheel of the gear clutch. Do I have to disassemble the whole engine or is there a separation between gearbox and motor?

Unfortunately I do not have a service manual for the Yamaha, it was not in the documentation of my vessel. (pre-owned)

The gear box is usually in the bottom of the lower unit near the prop area.

Look on youtube. What year is it?

You'll probably have to pull the lower unit as was mentioned and while you're in there you may as well replace the impeller

[Colin A]

Lower unit is the piece around the prop area. Depending on the engine anywhere from 5 to 2 external bolts hold it on. The driveshaft comes out with the lower unit. Powerhead etc stay in place. Look online for manuals or videos as some models may need another bolt removed for the shifter other use a splined shaft for it. You can also change the gearlube with out taking off the lower unit. Typically there will be two flat head plugs one at the bottom near the skeg the other near where the gearcase housing meets the cavitation plate.



On your issue most likely the shifter mechanism is bound up. If not you likely have internal issues in the gearcase. Most outboards have a forward and reverse gear and a dog clutch that rides on the prop shaft to engage either gear or to sit idle between. There are really pretty simple.


Also these guys have lots of parts diagrams online which can be helpful
https://www.crowleymarine.com/yamaha...ard-parts.html

[geoffr]

Originally Posted by Colin A

On your issue most likely the shifter mechanism is bound up. If not you likely have internal issues in the gearcase. Most outboards have a forward and reverse gear and a dog clutch that rides on the prop shaft to engage either gear or to sit idle between. There are really pretty simple.

Colin is quite likely correct - we had our gearshift on our 5HP get very very stiff and the problem was right at the shifter where it passed through. Take it apart and grease it up and was better.

[ZULU40]

Yamaha 5hp have some kind of lock out safety device
I think its meant to prevent you pull starting the engine in gear
It is controlled by the the linkage

I know its possible to inadvertently have it hooked up wrong because after some work on mine it was an issue. If you pull the cover off then from the forward end you will see a wire cable and cable cover, looks kinda like a throttle cable. It goes to a linkage, try messing with that

[motretu]

given that shifting is stiff in all directions, i would start at the top of the shift linkage, in particular the shift shaft attached to the shift handle. the shaft [metal] can corrode and cause the bearings [plastic] to expand resulting in a seize condition. i recently found this condition on an older honda5 [which looked remarkedly like a tohatsu5/4s and mercury5/4s.

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

Hi there,

I have a problem to shift gear on my outboard, clutch gets very stiff, cannot switch between forward / neutral / reverse without brute force.

Any idea how to fix this easily?

Thank you very much!

[Blue Reef Cafe]

Hi,


I have a Honda 5HP and had exactly this issue along with being very stiff to turn and the throttle cable being stiff. As has been previously indicated it was in the shift mechanism as opposed to the gears themselves. I ended up taking the engine off the frame (not a big job) to gain access and was able to lubricate the linkages from there.


Regards


Russ

[stormalong]

I do not know if this applies to Yamaha or other brands but I have had a similar problem of Tohatsu 3.5s.

The shift lever is made from nylon. Nylon swells in high humidity. Where the lever's shaft passes through the aluminum frame it binds. Remove the shift lever and see if it is very tight. If so sand it down until it is loose. Problem solved.

I have had the same problem on three different Tohatsu made outboards over a span of many years. You would think they would learn but Nooooooooooo.

[Mike Banks]

Lubrication. Strip it, clean it, remove any corrosion products, straighten any bent rods,grease it with the recommended grease and then re-assemble it and adjust the cables etc.

[CatNewBee]

Thank you all, will try this. Looks like a Winter maintenance job...[emoji1]

[coopec43]

Yamaha 5hp gear change difficult - Yachting and Boating World
www.ybw.com › Forum › Forum › Practical Boat Owner's Reader to Reader
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Clive

[coopec43]

Maybe something here?

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=y...w=1280&bih=581


Clive