1980 Evinrude Outboard Motor

Question
I just bought this boat and I am having troubles with the control box.  When I put it in forward, it won't go back into neutral or reverse position and when I get it in forward or reverse it's not engaging in forward or reverse, the prop still spins.  When I manually move the arm connected to the shift cable it works like it's supposed to (in forward and reverse).  I opened the control box and it looks like the gears are wore down.  Could that be my problem?  The guy I bought it from just replaced the shift and throttle cables.  How do I go about making sure the cables are correctly adjusted?

Answer
Dear Daron,

Powerboats are not my expertise but I think you have a cable adjustment problem.  I would start with motor off and the cable loose.   Then tighten a few turns and try to engage both forward and reverse.  Keep tightening the cable until the motor shift lever clicks into place both directions.  Then start the motor and try it.  Once the motor is on you may need to add some turns to get it to work smoothly.  Also you may want to lube the cable with some spray before you start to make sure it is not getting hung up.

Best of luck,

Harvey Chichester