Mercury 25XD Stuck In Reverse - The Hull Truth

bassfreak · 09-20-2008, 09:39 PM

Hey,
I have a 1986 Mercury 25XD. It has remote steering with a side mount throttle. When I pulled up to my fishing spot, everything was fine. Then when I started it up, the battery died. So I pull started it and when I went to put it in forward, it went in reverse. If I give it some gas with the shifter in forward, it just gives it more gas in reverse. So I put it in reverse and it went in reverse but when i tried to put it back in forward, it was stuck in reverse. Even when the shifter is in the nuetral position, it is still stuck in reverse. Now the motor is stuck in reverse. Does the dead battery have a play in this? What do you guys think is wrong?

Thanks

mtcfish · 09-21-2008, 04:44 AM

Did the cable end at the engine come off or did the shift cable break?

A1 Outboard · 09-21-2008, 06:13 AM

It sounds like a control box, shift cable, or the motor's shift linkage came apart somewhere. The quickest way to find out is to remove the shift cable at the motor and while holding the end of it, have someone shift into neutral and forward and back to reverse. That way you can see if the cable end is moving like it should, and if not, then the control box may need repair or the cable will need replacement.

With the motor not running but using your foot to spin the prop, shift the engine manually where the control cable connects to the motor, to see if the problem is the motor's fault. If so, then you have to troubleshoot the engine linkage and/or remove the gearcase for inspection.

bassfreak · 09-21-2008, 09:10 AM

The linkages move when you move the shifter. When the problem happened we were never in reverse. We went from forward to neutral and turned the motor off. Somehow it fell in reverse and cant get out. Now that the motor is in reverse, we cant even spin the prop by hand.