Got a new boat!

[Selmer]

Well, new to me anyway. 1988 Lund Stinger with 1989 Mercury Classic 45 hp tiller. Runs great, rides great, exactly what we were looking for in a used fishing boat. Only catch is that the motor doesn't stay in reverse. I have to hold the shift lever back to keep it in reverse. Is this normal? I've only ever run two other boats - our 14' wooden tub with 7.5 hp Johnson Sea Horse and dad's 16' Lund Laker with 50 hp Yamaha 4 stroke and they work perfectly. I didn't know if this was normal. I don't backtroll, so it's not a big deal, but I do back into log jams on the MN river and holding the lever back might be a PITA.

Also, this comes equipped with an "Auto-Blend" system for blending fuel. The previous owner has run it for 18 years without any problems in the Auto-Blend, but I'm a strong believer in the K.I.S.S. philosophy - Keep It Simple, Stupid. The Auto-Blend seems like the answer to a question better left unasked. My gut tells me to disconnect the darned thing and blend the fuel myself to make sure this Auto-Blend pump doesn't fail without my knowing about it, thus running straight gas through my 2-cycle engine, which sure as heck won't last long and I'd guess my first clue will be when it up and quits or throws a rod. Am I paranoid or on target here?

[delcecchi]

You could replace any wear related parts in the oil injection system...

Personally I found mixing oil and gas sort of annoying.

Not sure about the reverse thing.

[JosMN]

My reverse on my 60hp mariner tiller was the same way in reverse. Tightened up the linkage by the shift lever and it was good to go. Only thing that pops it out of gear is the gas line once in awhile. Not sure what to say about the oil. My oil injection was removed before I got it. I kinda like it that way. Piece of mind that I know the gas is mixed. Great choice of boat by the way. Enjoy

[Selmer]

Are you talking about tightening the linkage that is visible, right at the top? I can see that has a little slop in it. I also took heavy engine degreaser and a hose to it last night - it definitely helped. I spent a good portion of today on the water fishing and familiarizing myself with the boat. Absolutely ZERO buyer's remorse - it's exactly what I wanted and I can't wait to take my family out in it - the girls will get a kick out of going from 5 mph with our old boat to 25+ mph with this one.

[JosMN]

Yes that linkage. They have been known to wear out a bit. The slots on the plastic piece that holds the lever in forward neutral and reverse. If that piece isnt tight it wont hold very well. Take a good look at that.

Lot of memories to make in your new boat!

[Selmer]

Okay, I'll check that linkage out. I noticed that the slots on the plastic piece look like they could stand to be deeper. I'll clean all of it up and get things tight. Looks rain tomorrow and I need to putter in the garage anyway. I'll take care of it. It doesn't seem like a big deal until you're fishing alone, trolling a plug and try to back down on the snagged lure while reeling, controlling the boat direction, and trying to hold that shift lever back!

[BoxMN]

Selmer do you have internal tank or 6 gallon tank? If 6 gallon, note that that vintage tank needs to be vented, and that screw top (on merc tank) can rattle shut over the course of a day. That will make the motor kill, and has confused many a people We ended up just putting a zip tie under the top to keep it from EVER getting shut. Has worked for us for about 25 years. That motor will suck enough fuel down that you won't have to worry about leaving the vent open, haha!

Those motors are AWESOME but they are thirsty. Ours is a 82 and still runnning great.

[Selmer]

It's the external 6 gallon tank. I'm not sure if it's the Merc tank, but it's definitely not vented - I loosen it to let off pressure before I connect the hose and start up. I'm LOVING this boat - I've been waiting for almost a year to find this setup in my limited budget and I couldn't be happier. I'll have to grab my GPS next time we go out and find out just how fast we're going. I'm guessing 30 mph, which is fast enough for me. Would this pull a 70 lb. kid on skis? My daughters want to know very, very badly...

[BoxMN]

Yes, you can ski easily behind that boat. We did a lot of skiing with it in high school, bigger guys had to start on two though.

[JosMN]

Did you fix the reverse from popping out all the time? You should be able to pull a 70lb skiier no problem. Heck, my dads boat with 79 classic 50 got me up on skis a few years ago. I was running almost 200lbs at the time.

[Selmer]

I didn't take time to check out the linkages - the kids wanted to fish! It only comes out about half the time now, and that's just with cleaning out the old grease. There's definitely slop - I just have to figure out where it is. I think before i dive into it I may want to get a service/repair manual for the engine first. Any ideas on where to find one?

[JosMN]

There should be just a couple philips head screws on the top where the R N and F are. If its the same setup as mine. My merc/mariner 60 is only a couple years newer, should be the same.

[Selmer]

I'll check it out when I get home - church newsletter and worship planning day. Thanks!

[Selmer]

I checked out the plastic piece held in place with the two Philips head screws. I pulled it off - it doesn't seem excessively worn, but I can push the transmission lever quite a ways farther back with that plastic piece on. Is there any risk to taking it out on the water and seeing if removing the tab altogether takes care of the problem because I can push it farther back into gear? Or will I risk damaging something in the transmission? I left it off, but won't run it until I know if I'll damage something. And maybe it won't stay in gear without that plastic piece...but I highly doubt it.

[delcecchi]

Post or pm me your email address, please.

[Selmer]

I checked out the plastic piece held in place with the two Philips head screws. I pulled it off - it doesn't seem excessively worn, but I can push the transmission lever quite a ways farther back with that plastic piece on. CORRECTION - WITH THE PLASTIC PIECE OFF!!! Is there any risk to taking it out on the water and seeing if removing the tab altogether takes care of the problem because I can push it farther back into gear? Or will I risk damaging something in the transmission? I left it off, but won't run it until I know if I'll damage something. And maybe it won't stay in gear without that plastic piece...but I highly doubt it.

I mis-stated.

[JosMN]

Keep it on

[Selmer]

Okay, will do. Thanks for simple answers...

[delcecchi]

Sent some background info.

[Selmer]

I took the GPS out with me yesterday when cruising the Minnesota River, mostly out of curiosity about how fast I was going. Fully loaded with three adults, about 600 lbs of us total, we were going 40 mph with WOT on plane. I didn't think we were going quite that fast, but the GPS registered right on with the Suburban speedometer on the road. Alone I must have been pushing 50 mph easily...surprise at that top speed figure, but very pleased. And I don't worry about the Autoblend giving out any more...

[hamms-scooter]

I have the 50 hp merc 1983 tiller with tnt and it runs awesome. I get low 30s out of mine and that is just fine in my boat. I ususally run it at half throttle any way 23 mph or so. little better on fuel that way. I adjusted the throttle idle screw and it will just crawl now. Great smooth 4 cyl but they love the gas! . Others getting 40 out of this engine? my boat is a plain jane lowe lunker v with benches 16ft no floor nothing yet and 34 was top speed I got which I am very happy with.

[Selmer]

Okay, let me clear this speed thing up. As I suspected, the numbers above were more than optimistic. The 40 mph figure came from my friend's iPhone speedometer app that he downloaded. I was accurate with the Suburban on the road, so we figure it was good. Then I brought my really old Garmin GPS a week or so later which consistently put me at 30 mph flying solo at WOT, 26.5 with the family in the boat. That seems more reasonable to me and I trust an actual GPS unit more than an iPhone app. There, honesty abounds!

[Selmer]

Update. Have not fixed the reverse popping out, and this weekend it didn't want to go into reverse, had a gear-grinding sound when I tried, had to try several times before it engaged, consistently. Does this still sound like a linkage problem?

[Savage Brewer]

I had an early 80's Mercury 25HP outboard that had a similar issue, if I remember correctly there was an issue with the linkage on that, but that was at least 10 years ago.

Sorry I dont remember how I fixed it.

[BoxMN]

There should be adjustment on the shifter cable, just a screw type thing. Sounds like the cable is adjusted just a bit "short" possibly?... It would be back near the motor, possibly under the cowl, I can't recall on that motor. On the newer ones it for sure is inside the cowl. If you can find it, just give it a 1/4 or 1/2 turn that would make the cable longer, and keep going in 1/4 turns until you get it working with minimal grinding, just want a nice "thunk"