Hey Johnny!

The brass rings can be changed if they are damaged.. Just have to know how to do it.
I had the same thing happen after the motor stalled on a hot landing at the dock and I had to do a quick reverse manuver at high rpm.. I swapped out the shift fork and it has worked great ever since.
Vinny knows what to look for, I told him the story.
Also when you setup a drive and the gear stack is too tight it will cause the high spots on the cam will rub on the bump rings and wear them down.
If you stick your finger on the bump ring and spin it around and it cuts you, then it probably has been rubbing.. Too much throw on the linkage will cause it too.. (the slotted adjustment on the shift plate).

Dick

Thanks so much Dick......we are not going to get to it till next week...... hope it is the cam/fork....question is am I doing any more damage by running it the way it is? I can't miss a weekend you know....lol....

Sounds like a cone clutch going away. Hopefully its not since that can get pricey to fix.

I ran mine for a few months til I figured it out. Got to the point I had to rev it to 2500rpm to get it to catch. When I put the new fork and cam in, I never disassembled the gear stack. Worked fine.
I would run it.. just take it easy and let it take the 5sec to catch. I have yet to see a cone that was really bad. I did find some that had the ridges flattened, and they still worked. Once the cone is locked into the gear, there is no more movement. The force of the pinion gear forces it into the gear, locking it. If the oil doesnt come out between the cone and the gear it wont lock. Thats why they went from 3 vertical groves to 6, to get the oil out sooner. If you put it in gear and it locks, you are not doing any damage. Just put it in gear and go boating till you get back.. LOL!
I would run it and try not to over rev it. Just let it idle til it catches. Until you get that back cap off, and you shift it with the trim tool, like told Vinny.. That will tell you if something is in there causing a problem. Check for wear on the high spots of the cam and check to see if the shift shaft is straight..
Vinny looked at everything just a few hours ago.. So I doubt it is the cone, could be, but I would put money on the cam and fork.
Dick

One of my XR drives did this going into forward. It was the drive turning a LH prop. My mechanic fixed it by changing the shim on top of the gears.

Anything yet?

No not yet. I have not had the time to replace the cam and shift fork yet. Most likely will get done before the weekend. We will post results.

Thanks Vinny......keeping my fingers crossed.....

mine was like that for about a year, then one day pulling and pulled out of forward, nothing, pulled apart the shift lingage #14/15 in the parts list had worn thru, fixed that took away the dealy that I had always had..good luck I would look there first, cheaper easier..Rob

Rob,
I will be taking the drive apart tomorrow morning. Although I doubt the problem is what you suggested, I will take a close look at that. I had this drive completely apart this winter and saw no issues or worn parts. We are thinking that one of the dock hands that moves this boat from the forktruck to the dock, may have accidently shifted the drive while the engine was above idle. Possibly damaging the shift fork and cam.